Forever Yours
by lRainDropsl
Summary: C/P. AU. Once upon a time there was a time where nobles and peasants are unlawfully suited for each other. Each in its own class of significance. One would pay the ultimate price for one's disobedience. However, one would go the extra mile for love...
1. Chaper I: The Meeting

Forever  
  
Yours  
  
By: L.N  
  
Disclaimer: All (modern) characters belong to the Spelling Entertainment Production. The rest belongs to me.   
  
Date: 12-9-02  
  
Setting:   
  
Early 17th century  
  
Characters:  
  
Phoebe- Delphine Isabelle Mallet  
  
Daughter of King Alber VIII and Queen Victoria, she's the only child the couple could conceive.   
  
Piper- Gabrielle Alyn Färber  
  
Oldest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's the Princess of Austria. Married to a wealthy writer Leonardo Mellinio of Italy.  
  
Paige- Chloë Hannah Färber  
  
Youngest daughter of King Giorgio VXI, she's a rebellious 13 year-old. Still has a mind of a child.  
  
Cole- Amador Fabiano  
  
Italian-Austrian born, Amador, is the son of a peasant couple. He was fatherless since he was 8, and an orphan since he was 16, when his mother passed away of smallpox.   
  
Leo- Leonardo Mellinio  
  
A writer originally came from Italy, who migrated to Austria in search for a better life.   
  
Other characters:  
  
Queen Victoria Alexia Zechner of Romania/Austria- Originally Princess of Austria, until she was married to King Mallet VIII and became Queen Victoria.  
  
King Alber Mallet VIII of Romania- First born son of King Alber VII received the throne when he was 17, married to Princess of Austria, now Queen. They have one daughter, Delphine Isabelle Mallet.   
  
Henrik Amos Färber- The only son of King Giorgio XVI, he's the young Prince of Austria.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter I  
  
The Meeting  
  
"Do you know what I've always wondered?" came the laid-back voice of Phoebe Halliwell, who walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn in her hands.   
  
Settling herself on Cole's lap with one arm wrapped around his neck, she handed Paige the bowl of popcorn to pass around.  
  
"What honey?" Cole asked, kissing her cheek.  
  
"I always wondered what I—we were in our past lives," Phoebe replied, with her mind wandering around her own thoughts.  
  
"We've seen our past lives, Phoebe," Piper responded, not a bit interested.  
  
"I was the evil witch, remember?" Paige claimed, reaching for her popcorn.  
  
"I know, but I meant our lives before that," Phoebe clarified, while Piper stared at her still not interested.  
  
"You know how I hate time traveling, so there's no point to even bother asking me that question," Piper simply stated.  
  
"Well, I'm interested," Phoebe stated, still lost in her own thoughts of wonderment. "I mean, was I a peasant, middle-class, or noble? Who was my knight in shining armor? Who was my family?"  
  
***  
  
Staring into space, images of the present swiftly faded away, replaced by a valley where an open field of fresh cut grass welcomed the new arrival of spring. Tulips of all colours blossomed along the outline of an ancient castle.  
  
Beaming golden sunlight reflected and bounced off of an emerald green silk dress, sending metallic sparks surrounding the accentuated body. "Mother, can I please go out to the market?" asked an adolescent child, no older than sixteen, pleading her mother, who was enjoying the fresh smell of spring as she sniffed in the delicate aroma of the rose shrubs.  
  
"Delphine, you know how dangerous it is out there," she replied softly as she turned to her young daughter, lecturing her. "No girl your age, especially a young princess like yourself, should be out wondering in a filthy place such as the market. Who knows what kind of predators are out there sniffing and searching for young girls like you to take advantage of."  
  
"What if I take one of the guards with me?" She continued to beg. "For once mother, I would like to see what the world is like outside of this castle."  
  
"You will once you're married, but for now you are only to stay in the castle, unless you're with your father or me out visiting Austria." Her voice was delicate, yet firm and steady.   
  
"Well, then you can come with me," The young princess excitedly offered, hungry for adventure. "Please, mother, it'll be so much fun."  
  
"Delphine, no is no." Her mother answered unyieldingly.  
  
"Fine." She huffed whiningly, turning her back to her mother. She ran off to her room, but she bumped into a tall figure in a red robe, with an outline of golden fur on the rim, with vertical patterns knotted along the wild robe, which towered over her tiny figure. Gasping in horror, she threw her arms in front of her to shield herself from the giant figure.  
  
"Delphine," Its voice thundered throughout the vacant hallway, causing the flames from the rusty medal torches that were carefully hung along the hall sway.  
  
"Father." A low whisper escaped her rosy lips, with her eyes widened in fear.  
  
"How many times have I told you not to run, young lady?" His tone boomed, matching his tall figure, both of which sometimes frightened her a little. "When will you learn?"  
  
"I'm sorry father," The princess apologized in her most innocent voice accompanied by her puppy dog eyes.  
  
"Well, don't let me catch you running again, or you will be punished." He firmly commanded, but then softened as his eyes met her apologetic ones.  
  
"Yes, father." She obediently replied. Just as her royal father walked away, she called sweetly after him. "O, father." He slightly turned as she continued on. "Can I please go to the market?"  
  
"What did your mother say?"   
  
"Well, mother said it was up to you," she lied. "Whatever you say goes."  
  
"Don't worry, I'll take a guard with me," She quickly added, afraid he might say no. "Two guards! However many you want!"  
  
"Calm down young child." He motioned his hand for her to settle herself down. "You can go."  
  
"Thank you father!" She jumped into his arms in excitement.   
  
He slightly pulled her away just enough to see her face. "Only if you take the guards with you."   
  
"Bless you father, oh, bless you!" She kissed him once on each of his chubby cheeks, before taking off.  
  
Racing down the hall, she was held back by her father's roaring voice. "What have we just talked about?"  
  
Twirling around, she mischievously flashed her father a grin, and then started walking like a lady downstairs, but you could still tell, though, that she felt urged to zoom down the spiral stairwell. Bundling up her lavishly elegant emerald gown by its side, she hurried down the carpeted steps.   
  
In town, crowds assembled around a small stand. Gasps of amazement traveled a far distance, which caught Delphine's attention. Her eyes lit up as she heard uproar noises from up ahead. A bright smile made its way to her lips. She followed the noise like a young, curious child and took off quickly, leaving the guards behind with terror upon their faces.  
  
Cramming through the crowds, she squeezed herself in between people as she struggled her way through the massive horde, but then she tripped over someone's gigantic foot that was sticking out in her way. As she was about to fall flat on her face, a strong arm shot out and grabbed her by her waist, and pulled her in tightly, before she could hit the ground.   
  
Slowly turning her head, she was eye to eye with a handsome bearded, blue-eyed gentleman staring back at her warm brown ones.  
  
Her heart just seemed to stop as her eyes met his. Those eyes---those beautiful blue eyes. They seemed to be full of passion and mysteries. She couldn't help herself but stare. She was losing herself in them and her knees weakened.  
  
"Are you all right ma'am?" He politely asked, still holding her.  
  
"Huh?" She snapped back into reality. "Yes, I'm quite alright, I suppose." She nervously let out a chuckle, fighting herself to get out of his grasp, while her body wanted to stay in his arm forever.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized, as he let her up. He could not take his eyes off of her.  
  
"It's quite all right." She giggled. "I'm Delphine."  
  
"I'm Amador. What is a young lady like you doing in crowds such as these?" He could just tell that she was no commoner like himself. She was well dressed, and seemed do be very ignorant about the world around her.   
  
"I just wanted to see the market."   
  
"My guess is that you're not from around here."   
  
She shook her head, just before she saw some movements around the people. "What do you say we get out of here?" She anxiously suggested.  
  
"Pardon me?" Amador was baffled. Before he could protest, she yanked him out of the crowd, and rushed off.  
  
"For a young lady, you're a very impressive runner." He complimented, while catching up with her.  
  
"You can stop calling me that; I've had just about enough of that from my father, thank you." She replied with a slight bit of irritation in her angelic voice. She slipped off her heels and took off again as she disappeared down the road.  
  
Looking around bewilderingly, he had lost her. He was searching for her when suddenly he felt someone tugging and pulling him into a small street. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked angrily.  
  
"This way!" Was all she said just before the guards ran passed them.  
  
They continued to run until they finally reached a peaceful lake within the wilderness. Gentle waves splashed onto the sandy shore, while the luminous sunrays glistened in the water.   
  
She grabbed a hold of a tree to slow her down. She tried to catch her breath and rested against the strong trunk. Amador couldn't help but admire her while catching his own breath, wrapping one arm around his abdomen, and one rested on the trunk opposite end of Delphine's. He couldn't remember a time when he had run so much in his life, except for when he was fifteen and he had stolen a couple of roasted corns from the exact market that they had just escaped from, but they had been for his sick mother. He hadn't had much money; chopping wood wasn't enough to feed two people, and it was only enough to buy medicine for his ill mother. That still wasn't enough. He was forced to sell some of his most precious items, mostly of what his father had left for him and his mother shortly before his departure into the afterlife.  
  
"You're quite a runner for someone who looked to be a well-mannered lady," he remarked while still catching his breath.  
  
"What can I say? I'm a runner," she simply responded, putting her heels back on.   
  
"Well, aren't you going tell me what you're running from, or do I have to force it out of you?" He asked, now standing up straight.  
  
"What are you going to do?" She asked a bit flirtatiously.   
  
He gave her half assuming and half serious look.  
  
"The guards," she finally answered.  
  
"The guards?" He questioned.  
  
"Yes, they belong to me."  
  
"You're the princess," he stated. He had heard of her. She was the Princess of Romania. He had heard of how beautiful she was, but seeing her was better than hearing about her. Her beauty was indescribable; there were no words in the heaven or earth that could describe this angel.   
  
Word on the street was that she was to wed Prince of Austria, Henrik Amos Färber. Just by his name, he already sounded like trouble and gave a bitter taste to the tongue. Maybe it was jealousy, but whatever it was, it didn't sound good.  
  
"Yes." Her answer was low and short, as if she was almost ashamed--ashamed of being rich, ashamed of being noble, of ways people talked about her, and especially ashamed of being so ignorant about everything. She couldn't attend schooling like other girls and boys because she was royalty. She didn't belong in a land of people who were not up to her level, or so her mother said. What good can a private tutor do for her if she couldn't even experience real life situations? Instead she was sitting in fantasyland while the professor was yapping about numbers and figures that she couldn't understand.   
  
Everyday, while the professor explained to her about useless stuff that she doesn't even apply to real life—not that she had a life—she would be daydreaming about her charming prince.   
  
She'd always longed for an adventurous life for as long as she could remember, but she wasn't meant to live that kind of life.   
  
She always loved the idea of being saved by a complete stranger and falling in love with him, yet again, that wasn't meant for her.  
  
"You shouldn't be here, it's not safe," Amador advised, with disappointment in his voice.  
  
"I'm tired of being safe! I've been longing to explore this earth, this land for ages! And nobody is going to stop me!" She yelled out as she twirled herself with her arms extended into the air, taking in the fresh breeze of spring.  
  
She danced around as she enjoyed her bit of freedom. For all she knew, this might be the last time she would ever see the world again once her parents found out she'd lied to them.   
  
Amador admired her enthusiasm for the outside world and a smile crept upon his lips as he imagined himself kissing her. He had never had a girl standing so close to him before. He could smell her sweet perfume.   
  
"You know what I want?" She asked in her hyper state as she ran over to him and grabbed his arms, which knocked him out of his daydream.   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"I want to run off--far away from here."   
  
"Well, you might want to rethink those heels of yours," he joked, calling after her.  
  
She briskly turned around, and ran back towards him and grabbed his hand, pulling him with her down to the lake.  
  
To his astonishment, he followed her.   
  
Her touches were like heavens; her hands were silkily soft, and so warm to his touch, making his blood boil. He decided to relax and just go with the flow, so he grabbed on tighter to her hand as they ran down the steep slope.   
  
"Ahhh…" She screamed, trying to stop before landing in the water as Amador bumped into her from behind and knocked her down into the water, pulling himself in along with her, and he landed on top of her. Without saying a single word, she let out a big laugh taking pleasure in the moment as much as she could. She pushed him off, not too roughly, and ran with one shoe on and the other stuck in the sand.   
  
"Oh, so that's how you want it," Amador cried and chased after her.   
  
Running along the shoreline of the lake, she slipped off her other shoe and threw it onto dry land and started heading for the water. Amador watched in amazement. The girl, not just a girl but the princess--Princess of Romania-- that he just met less than an hour ago was now shamelessly flirting with him, a peasant. Maybe he was out of his mind, but it seemed as though she was interested in him. No! How could she be? Out of the rich and noble people of her class, why in the world would she want him?   
  
"C'mon, catch me if you can!" She exclaimed, giggling like a schoolgirl, waving, beckoning him to join her.   
  
"You'd better be as good of a swimmer as you are a runner, because I'm going in!" He shouted, just as he removed his somewhat torn and dirty maroon shirt, which revealed his masculine form that had been hidden underneath. He jumped into the cool water, swimming towards her. Suddenly, snuffling screams boomed in his ears. Looking up in shock, he found a drowning Delphine struggling to get her face above water level.   
  
"Help!" she cried out, slapping the water with her hands. Instantly, he dived under the water and made his way towards her. He could see her foot was trapped underneath all the layers of her dress. As fast as he could, he pushed himself forward. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her body up enough for her head to be above water, and as he did the same, swam to shore.  
  
Gently laying her body onto the sandy ground, he carefully brushed her honey golden brown hair her away from her face, before she coughed. She desperately coughed up water to get it out of her clogged-up throat. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to support her back up.   
  
"Are you going to be all right?" He asked, still shaken by the incident. "You scared me for a minute there."   
  
"You…you saved me." She uttered breathlessly looking up into his eyes, while tears welled up on hers, and she choked up thinking about what just happened. "You saved me."  
  
"Yes, well, of course." Amador helped the young princess up to her feet. "You don't expect me to just leave you there and drown, now do you?"  
  
"I guess not. How do I ever repay you? I didn't bring any gold with me."  
  
"No, you don't need to…"Before he could finish the sentence, Delphine had leaned in and kissed him, leaving him speechless.   
  
Did the princess just kiss him? Or was he dreaming? He stood stiffly as he stared at her, trying not to wake himself up if it was indeed just a dream. She leaned in closer and kissed him more passionately. Not knowing what to do, he found himself relaxing, and he kissed her back eagerly. His arms slowly crawled around her and pulled her in closer to him. Sliding her hands up around his neck, she dragged him down to her level and ran her fingers through his wet curly hair.  
  
He ran his lips to her cheeks, and slowly to her neck. Waves of desire pulsed throughout his body. Delphine kept her eyes closed and enjoyed every single one of his kisses. She could feel his length pressed against her raging body. Her fingers left his hair and traveled down to his broad shoulders. She pressed her hand against his strong chest, sliding it to the back of his neck, and slowly pulled away.   
  
He looked up into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I…"  
  
"No, it's not that," she quickly assured him. "I---I need to get going."   
  
"Oh," Amador whispered in disappointment coming back to reality, but brushed it off quickly. "Do you want me to walk you back?"  
  
"No, first I have to dry off first before I leave." She responded looking down at her clothes.  
  
"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and started leading her further down to the shoreline of the lake.  
  
After walking about half a mile, they reached a small log cabin laid in the middle of the forest. "What's this?" Delphine asked, following him into the old cabin.   
  
"This is my place," he replied. "It's not much, but it keeps the rain out, and the place dry."   
  
"You can dry yourself off here," he instructed as he lit up the fireplace. Delphine walked to his side, and held her hand out to feel the heat against it.   
  
"Don't you get lonely?" she suddenly asked, facing him.   
  
"Pardon me?" Amador looked up.  
  
"Do you get lonely living here alone?" she repeated.  
  
"You get used to it," he simply replied, looking at the blazing fire.  
  
"Oh," was all she said. She started glancing around the room, examining each part of the room carefully. Suddenly something caught her eyes. She cocked her head to the side to get a better view of it. Amador looked at her amusingly and tried to pinpoint what was so interesting that had caught her attention.  
  
"Who's that?" she curiously asked, pointing to a frame with an illustrated picture of a woman who looked to be around her late teen years.  
  
"That's--that's my mother," he answered hesitantly.  
  
"She's really beautiful." She made her way to a small nightstand to pick up the frame. Before her hand could touch it, Amador had stopped her.   
  
"Don't touch it!" he called out, making her jump. She turned and looked at him with sad eyes, as though she had hurt him.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. It's just that the frame is really old, and I'm afraid it might fall apart. I have no other place to keep it. It really means a lot to me."  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I should've asked." She then looked back at the picture and back to him. "So where is she?"  
  
He let out a chuckle, which made Delphine blushed. Noticing this, he stopped and lifted her face towards his and answered her thoughtfully, "She has passed on."  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry." she sympathized, placing her hands across her heart.   
  
"Ah, she's in a better place now," he replied, smiling charmingly at her. God! His smile just melted her heart. It was just so sincere and genuine. She smiled back with her eyes twinkling in the glow of the flame.  
  
"It'd been an amazing and unexpected day, but I have to go. Thank you for joining me." She gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek.   
  
"Do you want me to walk you back?" he asked hopefully, not wanting the perfect day to end.  
  
"It wouldn't be a pretty picture if the guards see us together. I don't want you to risk your life for mine."  
  
"It won't be the first time."  
  
She let out a laugh and sighed. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek again. "Farewell."  
  
With that, she let herself out, and started running up the hill, as Amador watched her from his window. It was the first and last time he would ever see her again. Out of all the beautiful girls in Romania, the one that walked into his life and captured heart had to be a princess.  
  
Closing his eyes, he could still taste her sweet kisses, her silky hands and her soft touches. It was like he was in paradise, just for a short instant, but it was all worth it. His image abruptly faded by obnoxious finger snapping.  
  
***  
  
"Earth to Phoebe! Earth to Phoebe!" Paige snapped her fingers in front of Phoebe's face, as she snapped back to reality. "C'mon are we watching the movie or not?"  
  
"Sure, sure." She replied dismissively without bothering to look at her. The outer world was shunned from her vision, while her mind lingered around her past. 


	2. Chapter II: The Love

Chapter II  
  
The Love  
  
She tossed and turned, her head turning side-to-side, cold sweat dripping down her forehead, her hands gripping tightly onto the thickly quilted blanket as her body arched into the air, a scream of pleasure echoing through the humongous room, "Amador!"   
  
Delphine shot up straight on the queen sized bed, round piercing eyes looking terrifyingly at the wall up ahead. Heavy gulps of breath rapidly pumped through her tiny body as she gasped for air.   
  
She threw the blanket aside, slipped her feet into the slippers; she got up and walked to the window. Opening up the glass windows, a gust of cold wind blew in and intruded through her thin crème nightgown, causing her sensitive nipples to tighten erect. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms up and down to warm herself up, sniffing in the fresh cool breeze to calm herself down.   
  
Looking in far distance, she spotted a fuzzy puff of smoke squiggling freely in the clear night sky, and she wished it was her. She blinked and smiled to herself as she rested her elbow on the ledge of the window, dreaming about her savior.   
  
It was exactly as she had envisioned ever since she was a young girl, her very own knight in shining armor, which had led her back to her dream, her vision. It was intense, and so---so real. It was as though she was there, feeling his strong, masculine body overpowering her tiny one.   
  
She could feel her body tighten up as he entered her in full speed. It seemed as if she was knocked out for a split second when he filled her, her body was cast into another plane or dimension. Everything went black all of a sudden while her body took control and replied to his rhythm…and that was when she snapped back to reality.   
  
Waves of exciting shivers rushed through her body just thinking about it. A naughty smile emerged on her lips, and her nipples hardened.   
  
Turning her head towards the wooden door, she looked down sadly. She was locked in, and there was no way she could get out. She was imprisoned in her own home, a home she will be trapped in until her wedding day.   
  
Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes. She was being forced to marry the Prince of Austria, whether she liked it or not. She had no choice of choosing her own destiny or lover. Everything was planned out even before she had been born. Her life had been planned out, and her groom had been chosen. Yet, every girl wishes to become her, a princess.   
  
She knew why her mother was giving her to Henrik. She knew every detail to her mother's plan; she didn't need to be told. It was so obvious why her mother was so eager to give her away to Henrik: so he could take over her father's throne once he was dead. Henrik was going to become the ruler of Romania. Either that or take all their fortune and bring it back to Austria. Once he inherited it, the only thing left to do on his list would be to kill her.   
  
She let out a sigh and removed those disturbing thoughts from her head; she refocused her mind back to Amador. She could still taste his kiss at nighttime. She could feel his hands running through her body. And his length, God his length! It drove her crazy for days. The size, the height, and the shape, she just wanted him to take her at that moment.   
  
Everywhere she looked, she could see his face staring at her. Everything she touched felt as if she was touching him. At night, when she laid alone in bed, she felt like he was there with her, holding her, but every morning she found herself alone…   
  
Owls hooting, crickets chirping, left over leaves from the dry autumn ruffled on the woodland ground, as squirrels ran through them.  
  
Sound of wood chopping was singing in melody along with the sound of waves crashing against the shallow shore.   
  
A full moon sent brightly light through the canopy of the forest, and shone through the mahogany wood cabin, and the man next to it, with a straight back, and an uprising ax holding up in the air, as its razor-sharp edge blade flickered against the moonlight.   
  
A sharp, thunderous crack sent the animals and birds zooming off as the work continued on, while the cool evening had fallen into a cold night. Fog covered most of the wood and water, most of the night animals hiding themselves in shrubs and bushes while some snuggled in piles of big rocks down by the lake.   
  
A rustling sound on the floor of the woods crunched up the silence of the deserted land. Continuous sounds of crumpled leaves made the woodchopper suspicions. Laying down the ax, he tiptoed, following the sound while sneaking behind tall, massive trees.   
  
From a remote place, he could barely make out the moonlit apparition. The thick mist had blocked his keen vision, causing him to squint his eyes, which wrinkled up his handsome face. He rushed from tree to tree, as leaves ruffled underneath his feet.   
  
The crunching noises caused the figure to stop and examine its surroundings, it then took off running as the woodchopper chased after it. Running as fast as it could, but not fast enough, he jumped onto its back causing them both to fall, as a frightening scream broke through the muted wood. Flipping the intruder over to determine its identity Amador was surprised to see who it was, "Delphine."  
  
A hurtful Delphine's eyes met his as she roughly pushed him off of her and started walking off. He chased after her, after he realized what he just did. "Delphine, I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't know it was you."  
  
"Yeah, well…" she trailed off, holding onto her now bruised arm that had been severely brushed against the small twigs and rough, dry leaves on the ground.  
  
"I'm truly sorry," he continued to apologize. "Please, let me take a look at that wound." he offered kindly, as he noticed her holding up her arm to look at the threatening-to-bleed abrasion on her flesh.  
  
"You've done enough!" She spat, proceeding on walking away and avoiding Amador.  
  
He stubbornly continued going after her, running past her so he could be face to face, and insisted on fixing her wound. "Let me look at it."   
  
She looked up slowly to find his sincere face looking pleadingly at her for him to exam her wound. Right away, she realized something different about him. His beard! That was it. His beard. It was no longer there. It was shaved off, which gave her a better view of his face. He looked somewhat younger. He looked to be about eighteen. Now, she could clearly see his full profile. He was undeniably irresistible.  
  
Without replying, she gently pushed her arm towards him. A smile spread across his face, as if he was pleased with her decision. "This doesn't mean I will forgive you."  
  
"I didn't say anything about forgiving." he stated, smiling like a schoolboy. "How about we go back to my cabin where there's better lighting?"  
  
She nodded agreeably, and she followed him from behind. While traveling through the long road ahead, Amador decided to make conversation along the way.  
  
"What are you doing here at this time?" he asked looking back at her, only to find her gloomy face looking down to the ground. "C'mon, I said I was sorry. I wouldn't have attacked you if I had known it was you."  
  
Ignoring his question, she lost in her own little world. "This was a complete disaster." She thought. She shouldn't have escaped. Now look what had happened.   
  
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Came Amador's fiery voice. "I've apologized. It's not like I'm sneaking around waiting for you to come and attack you!" He continued on, "Lighten up! You don't have to be so bratty about it!"  
  
Suddenly silence settled between them. The footsteps stopped. She looked up defensively as he continued to walk on angrily without a care in the world with what was happening behind him. "If that's how you really felt, why didn't you just let me drown?"   
  
"What?" He turned around, shocked by her comment.  
  
"I didn't come here to be butchered by you. I should've known!" her voice broke, "You're just like the rest them!" She yelled furiously, as she was on the verge of tears. "You only used me for your own pleasure, and turned on me!" She then ran away, tears streaming down her face.  
  
She was a fool to think he actually liked her for a minute. For the past many sleepless nights, his image had clouded her head. It was as if she had fallen for him…hard. Dreams of him invaded her mind. She couldn't concentrate because every one of her thoughts involved him. Tears of pain and betrayal threatened to cascade down her face rapidly.  
  
Dumbfounded by what she said, he then rushed to her side quickly, instantly regretting every single word that had come out of his mouth. He grabbed her arm abruptly and forced her to look at him. She shot him an evil glance, then snatched her arm back and ran off.   
  
"Now you can repay me by telling me what the hell is your problem!" he called after her furiously.  
  
She hastily turned around, revealing her tearful face. She viciously bellowed, "YOU! You're my problem!"  
  
Caught off guard by her remark, his heart just stopped. "Me?" he thought, "What did I do?"   
  
"What are you talking about?"   
  
"Nothing; you wouldn't understand anyway." She lowered her voice, and slowly walked away.  
  
"Please, don't walk away like that." His voice turned solemn and sincere, "I deserve to know if it's about me."  
  
She gazed at him lazily with tears in her eyes and it just broke his heart to see her like that. He had imprinted the image of a spontaneous girl in his mind; he'd never considered seeing this side of her…so depressed and vulnerable. "Not a good thing," he told himself, as he attempted to come closer.   
  
She stood her ground stiffly she didn't dare to move. He was right, she did owe him a favor, but how could she ever tell him that she was in…dare she say it, LOVE, with him? It may be silly to others, but after all she did believe in love at first sight. And she was definitely struck by Cupid's arrow when her eyes met his.   
  
There were so many things she yearned to share with him. Her fantasies, her desires, and her love…for him. Her heart was only big enough for one special person, and her mother had believed it would be Henrik, but boy-oh-boy was she wrong. Her love would never belong to Henrik.  
  
Her conscience stopped her from showing her true feelings because it was wrong and dangerous, but her heart demanded that she run to him and kiss him and stay in his arms.   
  
Her lips motioned as she was about to speak, but yet nothing came out, except for a puff of smoke that escaped her mouth from the cold air.   
  
"What is it?" he asked in a low tone that could barely be heard. He cupped her cheeks, and brought her face up to his. Her eyes wandered around before she decided that there was nowhere else to look apart from his blue ones.   
  
Gazing into her tearful eyes, it seemed as though he could read all the pain and sorrow that was going on in her head: Her life, her feelings, her passion, her dreams. She blinked, letting drops of tears stroll down her cheeks that were caught by his thumbs and were wiped away.   
  
She stumbled on her feet, as she could no longer stand still, and Amador grabbed onto her petite waist and held onto her before she could topple over. Her midsection lightly clasped with his, and she could feel a little temptation motion, which aroused her.   
  
Amador could sense his personal companion getting a little excited, and immediately he tried to calm himself down, but was caught off guard by Delphine's body pressing against his. Her head was lifting up, as his was lowering. Amador softly brushed his lips against hers, while she could feel twinkles of stimulation taking over her body. Her arm found its way around his wide waist, as the other draped around his neck.  
  
She leaned in closer to deepen the kiss, while Amador tugged her closer roughly, and his hands groped her body. She could feel his arousal; his length was pressed hard between them.   
  
Delphine let out a low moan as Amador's hands grabbed her buttocks and squeezed them. Suddenly her dream became a reality, as her pain faded out of her mind, and her tears dried away into the cold wind.   
  
"Amador," she whispered, still hanging onto the kiss.  
  
He didn't even bother to respond. All he could think about was the kiss and whom he was kissing. Her lips were lush and full, making him crazy. Parting his lips from hers, he captured her bottom lip and nipped on it.   
  
Abruptly Delphine pulled his head away, and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with passion and desire; he could see it, and he could see that she could read him as well.   
  
"We should go back to your cabin," she suggested hoarsely. Her cheeks blushed just knowing what would happen next. Her body was calling out for his, just as his was calling out for hers.   
  
Amador nodded his head, and slipped his hands off her waist and buttock, and grabbed her hand, then led the way…  
  
***  
  
Time traveled slowly, while the movie seemed to have ended before it was supposed to. Ejecting the DVD out of the DVD player, Piper popped another movie in.   
  
"What movie is that?" Phoebe asked lazily, resting her head on Cole's shoulder.   
  
"Serendipity," Piper answered.  
  
"Not another mushy love movie!" Leo complained.  
  
"What's wrong with romantic movies?" Piper questioned irritably. "It's not as interesting as your action movies? Where people die? Kicking demons' asses, and innocents dying everyday is not good enough for you? For once, I wish you can be romantic for a change."  
  
"What? I'm romantic," Leo defended.  
  
"Sitting on your ass and watching TV everyday is not call being romantic," Piper explained in a childish tone, as if she was talking to a toddler.  
  
"Well, I'm tired after a day of work, so I'd like to relax." Leo notified her, "You know traveling really wears you out."  
  
"Oh, enough. Can you both stop arguing? I'm getting a migraine," Phoebe calmly demanded. Rolling her eyes, Piper popped the new movie in.  
  
***  
  
Leisurely they walked as they reached the door, Delphine wrapped her arms around herself tightly to keep herself warm even though she had Amador's thick coat around her.  
  
"How can you survive this weather?" she asked, walking into a warm, but dim house.   
  
"That's why I have a fireplace," he responded, removing the heavy coat for her.   
  
She walked with light steps to the fireplace; she bent down to feel the heat dancing around her face and hands.   
  
"What are you doing here at this hour?" Amador repeated the previous question.  
  
Motioning, as she was about to turn her head, she smiled to herself and looked down. "I don't know," was all she could say.   
  
"Well, there has to be a reason," Amador stated, "People don't generally stroll into the wood at this time of day for no unexplainable reason."   
  
"Let's just keep it as a mystery," she joked, and let out a laugh, as did he.   
  
He was happy to see her alive again. That smile of hers just killed him. It was wonderful to see her being full of life once again but, he was glad to see the other side of her. Who said royalty didn't have emotions or feelings or even a heart?   
  
"If you don't mind, may I ask you why you cried?" he suddenly asked.  
  
Looking up at him, she had no idea what to tell him. For heaven sake's, she doesn't even know why she cried. Maybe it was hormones, maybe it was mixed emotion, or maybe she just doesn't know how to tell him she loved him.   
  
"What do you mean when you said I was the problem?" He continued.  
  
Getting up and moving towards him, she gave him a weak smile and answered, "You might find this a little weird but to be honest I have no idea."  
  
"Well, I appreciate your honesty."   
  
"Can I ask you a question?"   
  
"Yes, sure, I suppose."   
  
"Have you ever been in love?" she asked out of the blue, while avoiding eye-contact.  
  
He was caught by surprise, but then decided to answer with some hesitation, "If you must know, yes, yes I have."  
  
"Really? How old were you?"   
  
"Well, now you're just being nosy," he declared.  
  
She turned away blushing two shades redder than her rosy cheeks.   
  
"Have you?" Amador suddenly turned the table, which made her blush more than ever.  
  
"I'm not answering that." she sternly responded.  
  
"Oh, come one now, you got it out of me, it's only fair that you answer it too."  
  
"I don't have to." She stood her ground.  
  
"Oh, yeah?" Amador said reaching his hand out to ravish her. She let out a yelp and continuous giggles echoed the small cabin, as he tickled her.   
  
Movements of tiny paces sent them reaching for the bed next to the nightstand. A small, ancient bed. The mattresses must have been a decade old, as it seemed to be rotten from the bottom.   
  
Falling on the bed, he continued to tickle her. Laughter lightly grew fainter, and was restituted by awkward feelings.   
  
Amador brought his hand to her face and swept away a few strands of hair that were in her face.   
  
She bit her bottom lip lightly, while gazing in his eyes. Picking her own head up, she dived in for a kiss. Impatiently, he laid her head back down, and deepened their kiss. He slipped his tongue into her hot, awaiting mouth and explored it while Delphine ran her hands around his shirt and tried to remove it. Pulling it over his head, she swung it down onto the ground, just before Amador pulled her up to him.  
  
Hands busy trying to undo her dress, he impatiently grabbed the lacings on her back and unfastened it. Removing it from all the loops he pulled it down as fast as he could, revealing a white corset underneath which held up her round firm bosoms heaving up high, as her breath quickened. Shoving his face down, he gently placed gentle kisses on her breasts, while unhooking her corset.   
  
Completely removing everything, except her panties, he let his fingers play around the elastic band as he captured her left nipple into his mouth and suckled it, sending a sense of pleasure throughout her body. She grabbed him by his hair and beckoned him to take her. Her body arched and collided with his. He clutched onto the small of her back and pressed it against his burning desire. The stirring was uncontrollable, and Delphine could feel it. She quickly undid the rope around his waist, and slipped his pants down. Just after she did so, he undid hers.   
  
Heat of longing for the needed desire was boiling between them. Amador took Delphine's hands and placed them back behind her head, while his feet parted her long legs, and his hand caressed the side of her breast.   
  
Taking in every sweet moment, she moaned aloud when his hand touched her womanhood. The tingling feeling sent her to the edge, it was the first time ever in the sixteen years of life, had she ever felt such wonderful pleasure. She just wanted time to stop so she could stay in this moment forever.   
  
He scooped her into his arms and silenced her with a lustful kiss; she wrapped her arms around his beefy waist and tugged him closer to her. He suddenly dragged himself away for her, which had her confused. Her lips motioned as if she was about to speak, but her eyes just blinked and said nothing.   
  
"I can't," Amador spoke throatily.   
  
"What?" Delphine questioned flabbergasted.  
  
"We shouldn't. It's not right." He proclaimed. "It's not fair…to you."  
  
"But I don't understand." She uttered.   
  
"We shouldn't be doing this."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because, it's against the law for a peasant and a noble to be intimate. And it's disgraceful to be intimate before your wedding day. The act of love should be between two people to love each other."  
  
"What's love?" Delphine quizzed, looking adoringly into his eyes.  
  
"Love?" He climbed off of her and lay by her side. "Love is when you care for a person so much, you would risk anything for them. Even if it means your life depends on it. And when you can't get them out of your head."  
  
"Really?" She turned to face him, and fluttered her lashes.  
  
"I suppose." He looked at her, just wanting to kiss her again.   
  
Saying nothing, she just leaned in and kissed him passionately. Cupping his face with her hands, she climbed onto him and strangled him with her legs. "Then I guess I love you." She announced out of the blue.   
  
Everything just stopped all of the sudden. Did he hear that correctly? Or was he hallucinating? Maybe it was a mistake. He must have misheard it. "What?" He questioned disbelievingly.  
  
The slight form of frown appeared on her face, as she hesitated before answering, "I love you." Trembling with the words, it frightened her now that she said it out loud. Afraid of how he was going to react, because not a word had been said once those three powerful words came out of her mouth, she quickly took them back, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."  
  
"Do you really mean that?" Amador questioned with caution.  
  
"I…" She stuttered, "yes."  
  
Glancing blankly around the room, not knowing what to do next, she pushed herself up about to get off of Amador, suddenly his arm stretched out and dragged her down to him and he kissed her with all his might, as she let out a groan.   
  
He led her down onto her back without breaking their kiss; he ran his fingers into her inner thigh and caressed it, and his other hand fondled her round firm breast. Letting out another pleasurable groan, she broke the kiss, and seductively intoned, "Take me now!"   
  
With that said, Amador granted her wish. He positioned himself at a perfect angle, grabbed her by her waist, and entered her in full speed as she had dreamed. Screams of pain and pleasure reverberated through the forest. Arching her back into the air, he tightened his grip on her and moved in and out of her faster and faster. With each thrust he threw at her, it brought her into a new amazing level of pleasure. As she was reaching her final destination she screamed again, "Amador!"  
  
Giving her the final pump, he prepared himself as if he knew what was going to happen next. He gave the final thrust; muffle screams of the two lovebirds didn't go much further than their hot, hungry mouths. Silencing their appreciation for each other with a kiss, while connected, the throaty screams slowly died down.   
  
Staying linked as one for as long as possible, Amador slowly pulled away and gazed lovingly at Delphine. Cupping her cheek with hand, he caressed her soft cheek with his thumb, as she closed her eyes and felt the warmth against it.   
  
Smiling to himself, he admired her naked body against the blazing fire dancing against her satin skin. Lowering his head, he kissed her neck, then her cheeks, and suddenly whispered in her ear, "I love you."  
  
Slowly she opened her eyes, she just stared at him. That was all she wanted to hear, those three words. Her pounding heart just started to pipe down to its normal speed. She cracked a smile and draped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down to her. Putting their heads together, she mimicked his question in an amusing way, "You really mean it?"   
  
"I…" he imitated her, "yes."  
  
She slapped him playfully on his chest, and laughed.   
  
Breaking the connection, he climbed off of her, and pulled the torn cover up to them. He carefully wrapped it around her, and settled himself next to her.   
  
Snuggling up to him, she wrapped her arms around him, as he scooped her into his.   
  
Staying in each other arms, and slowly dozing off, Delphine had completely lost track of time. But, suddenly a thunderous sound knocked her out of sleep.   
  
She snapped her eyes opened, waking Amador up, then nervously ran to the door and opened it only to see that it was the crack of dawn. Eyes popping out of their sockets, she let out a horrifying scream, "AH! It's dawn! Amador, get up!" Running back inside, she gathered up all her clothes, and threw them back on, while Amador had gotten up and threw on his own.   
  
Walking her to the door, it brought old memories back. This, right here, right now, may be the last time he'd ever see her again. Holding onto her hand tightly, never wanting to let her go, he walked her to the door. They stared at each other intensely as if they wanted to take a mental picture of each other to remind them of their special night.   
  
Letting out a tiresome sigh, Delphine took all her courage to speak up, "Will I ever see you again?"   
  
"You know were I am," he simply answered, and he cupped her cheeks with both hands to bring her face to his and softly brushed his lips against her.   
  
Turning towards the wilderness, not knowing whether to run or not, Delphine slowly paced herself away from Amador and took off. And never once did she look back.  
  
Watching her running away again just brought him back to many of his lonely nights. Nights he spent in bed alone thinking of her. Thinking of the incident.   
  
When he heard those muffled screams crying out for help, his heart just stopped. He'd thought his worst nightmare had come…witnessing another life passing away before his eyes.   
  
However, that wasn't what he mostly thought about. All he could do was envision himself being with her. Feeling her touches and kisses. It was all he ever wanted. He could never recall a time when he had felt or even imagined himself with a girl, but, then again, what kind of girl would want him? A lumberman. He didn't even make enough money to put food on the table for himself, and talk about adding another person to his life… What would they eat? Dirt?   
  
But, yet, this beautiful, enchanting princess was falling head over heels for him. Was he thankful for it or was he ungrateful for it? Was it a curse or was it a gift? All he knew was that he was in love with her and she was in love with him. However, would their love put them both in danger? 


	3. Chapter III: The News

Chapter III  
  
The News  
  
Months had passed as the delightful spring turned into a dreadful summer. The temperature rapidly rose into the most boiling point of the season. Blazing hot sunrays beamed into the well-constructed castle, and shined into the huge room, shining into the eyes of the young princess. Squinting her eyes, she groaned and moaned as she tossed and turned, throwing the cover over her head to block the unpleasant light.   
  
"Delphine!" The husky voice of her mother sent a chill down her spine, and she shuddered. Something told her something bad was going to come her way. Before she could answer, her mother burst through the wooden door with a maid. "Delphine," She called out again, this time flipping the cover off her head revealing her big, puffy, tangled honey-brown hair. "Get up! We're off to the market."   
  
"The market?" she asked, still having her eyes shut while sitting up.  
  
"Yes."   
  
"I thought you said that place was filthy," she commented.  
  
"Well, just get dressed," her mother commanded. "Teresa, help her pick out a dress," she said, turning to the maid.  
  
"Yes, milady, the princess will be down in a jiffy," the maid nodded politely.  
  
"Oh, and Delphine, Chloë will be accompanying us on this delightful morning," her mother added.  
  
"What?" she shrieked in outrage, and giving herself a headache from the high-pitched tone. She had always disliked Chloë. She was always so annoying and always acted childish. And she was such a tagalong.   
  
"Now, Delphine, calm down. We all will be family soon, there's no need for such an outburst," the queen calmly informed her.  
  
The young princess let out a grunt and slopped back down onto the bed. Not only did she have to put up with her now, but also she had to put up with her for the rest of her life!   
  
"Hello, Izzy!" A squeaky voice bounced into the room, giving her goosebumps.  
  
"Chlöe," her mother chimed.   
  
Delphine's eyes popped out just hearing that name, Chloë! Ah, gosh, did she have to see her now; as if it wasn't bad enough she had to spend the day with her. She always hated it when Chloë referred to her by her middle name, Isabelle. And especially when she squeaked, "Izzy!" It sounded like as if some middle-aged snob woman was calling out for her poodle.   
  
"Whoa, your hair looks awful!" The spunky young Princess of Austria shrieked, then bursting out laughing. "Wait till Henrik sees you like this! He'll probably break off the engagement."  
  
"That'll be a dream come true!" Delphine told herself, right before shooting an eerie glare at Chloë. Then suddenly she felt an uncomfortable churn in her stomach that made her squirm, but as always no one noticed as all of their attention was on Chloë.  
  
"All right, enough, you two," Victoria ordered, "Enough." She then turned to Delphine and ordered: "Get dressed, and we'll be waiting for you downstairs."  
  
"Yes, mother," Delphine answered grumpily, and rolled her eyes just as her mother turned her back.   
  
"Come along, Chloë," the queen commanded firmly.  
  
Out in town, the incredibly hot sun beat down onto the stands that were set up along side of the walls. People hid themselves under cloths or rags that they used to clean their stands with, or practically anything that was big enough to hide them from the madness of the sun. For the more fortunate people, they hid under their umbrellas.   
  
The sun was unbearable; it was flaming against Delphine's sensitive beige complexion as she tried to hide herself under the umbrella that she had to share with Chloë, who kept jerking it over to her side.  
  
"Would you please keep it still?" Delphine snapped in annoyance.   
  
"Sorry," Chloë apologized and straightened up the light pink sateen umbrella, which matched up with her light pink sateen dress with white lacing.  
  
Strolling down the busy market, something suddenly caught Delphine's eye. Trying to push past people to get a better glimpse of the unique figure, it suddenly struck her mind who it was. "Amador," she whispered to herself.   
  
"What?" Chloë intruded her thoughts.  
  
Paying no mind to her, Delphine took a step closer to the stand and smiled to herself, noticing her mother was only a stand away. Just as she was approaching, she caught Amador eyes. A smile formed on his face, and a grin danced on her lips. Rushing over to the cart, and pretending to look at the timbers, she looked up slightly, so it wouldn't look so obvious to the people around her, especially her mother and Chloë , and then she whispered, "Hello."  
  
"Hello," he greeted back in a low tone, his eyes still on her.  
  
It seemed as though they hadn't seen each other in ages, but in reality they have spent almost every night together. But they still couldn't take their eyes off of each other; it seemed they forgot everyone around them.   
  
"Delphine!" Her mother called.   
  
"Huh?" She snapped back to reality.   
  
  
  
"Delphine, let's go darling!" her mother chimed again. This time she turned towards her mother, but only found she was face-to-face with Chlöe.   
  
"Hello!" Chloë greeted with a big grin on her face.  
  
"Chloë!" Phoebe shrieked. "You scared me half to death."   
  
"Delphine!" her mother intoned.  
  
"Yes, mother, I'm coming," she answered like an obedient little child. Turning away from Amador, she then brushed her shoulder brusquely against Chloë's to get her out of the way.  
  
Looking back at Amador, she mouthed, "Farewell" to him and slowly walked off with Chloë accompanying her by her side.  
  
"You like him, don't you?" Chloë suddenly whispered.  
  
"What is it any business of yours?" she spat.  
  
"I know how you feel," Chloë declared, still whispering, frightened that the queen would overhear her.   
  
"What do you mean?" Delphine murmured.   
  
"I know how you feel," she repeated. "It's not always picturesque when your life is being drawn out before your eyes. You don't get to make decisions. You don't have say in anything. It's hell, I know." With that she bounced off, leaving Delphine thinking.   
  
***  
  
"Okay, I'm tired." Paige announced, "I'm off."  
  
"Night!" Piper and Cole said in unison.  
  
"Night!" Phoebe said lazily.  
  
"Leo!" Piper shrugged her shoulder, which knocked Leo, who was resting his head on her shoulder out of his sleep. "Why don't you go to bed, too?"  
  
"Yeah," Leo said sleepily. "Night."  
  
"Night!" Piper and Phoebe said.  
  
"Cole, are you tired, baby?" Phoebe turned to Cole who was resting the side of his head on his fist.   
  
"Uh, no, not yet." Cole said patting Phoebe's lap.  
  
"Ok."  
  
***  
  
The walk was tormenting. Sweat covered Delphine's and Chloë's faces as they rushed into the house. Maids with cool towels were at hand, and they each grabbed one.   
  
"Oh Lord, I could've fried out there," Delphine complained. "When did the heat become so unbearable?"  
  
Walking off to her room, with Chloë following right behind her, she let out a tiresome sigh.   
  
"You know I really meant it when I said 'I know how you feel'," Chloë said.  
  
"I know," Delphine nodded, smiling at Chloë. She didn't seem so bad after all. She seemed more mature when adults weren't around. Maybe her immaturity was just a cover so she could get some attention. Probably because she was the youngest of the Färber family; her siblings, Gabrielle and Henrik, were the talk of the town since Gabrielle had just wed a famous writer, Leonardo Mellinio, and Henrik was about to wed her. There was no time for little Chloë. Urg! Henrik. Just thinking of the name gave her a foul taste in her mouth.   
  
"I'm not just an airhead everyone thinks I am," Chloë sadly stated. "It's just that, being like this helps me get through the day. I just want to be as happy and jolly for as long as I can before I end up like you."   
  
"I beg your pardon!" Delphine turned to her with an insulted look on her face.  
  
"I just meant I want to enjoy my youthful time as much as I can before being sent off to a foreign land," Chloë added. "I know you don't love Henrik. Heck, neither do I, but unfortunately we're siblings. I just wish he weren't such a jerk sometimes."  
  
"Wow, you're more grown-up than I thought," Delphine apologized, "I'm sorry for being so stingy toward you."  
  
"Forgiven," she happily declared. "Life is too short to be mad at anyone."  
  
"You know, there's one thing I've been dying to get off my chest." Delphine said.   
  
"Feel free to share."  
  
"It's confidential."   
  
"Anything that has been or will be said in this room will not go beyond this room," Chlöe vowed.   
  
"I'm in love!" Delphine affirmed happily as if she was on cloud nine.  
  
"With whom?" Chloë asked intriguingly.   
  
"You know the lumberman at the market today?" Delphine questioned with a big grin.  
  
"Him?" Chloë outburst.  
  
"Shh!" she shushed her. "Yes," she answered with a whisper, blushing. "He's wonderful! He's like no man I've ever met. He's handsome, and so loving. And he's a wonderful lover!"   
  
"You made love to him?"  
  
Delphine nodded, while the grin was still visible on her lips. "He saved my life, Chloë, I could've died drowning, but he saved me!"   
  
"Drowning?"   
  
"Yes, it's a long story." Delphine dismissed it and continued on, "Have you ever met a man and your heart just started singing and your stomach filled with butterflies?"  
  
"Yes," Chloë admitted, "Yes, I have."  
  
"That was how I felt when I met him," she recalled, "I just feel so free when I'm with him." Delphine swirled into the air then slopped onto her bed, "He makes me feel ALIVE!"   
  
"I see." Chloë stated, chuckling. For as long was she had known Delphine—practically her whole life—she had never seen her this happy before.   
  
Quickly standing up, Delphine gave herself a head rush. She held onto her head, and Chloë rushed to her side and grabbed her upper arms to support her balance.   
  
"Whoa, are you all right?" Chloë asked concernedly.  
  
"I'm quite all right, I think."   
  
"Easy does it." Chloë settled her back down to the bed.   
  
After many more hours of the private conversation, Chloë soon left.   
  
It was such a wonderful feeling to finally share her feelings with someone. It was nice now that she had someone to confide in about the love of her life.   
  
Night had fallen once again, and it was time for her to go. The nighttime was her friend now. At this time, she could be anyone and anybody she wanted. She can just be a girl in love with a wonderful peasant boy, and not worry about being caught by anyone.  
  
Climbing out of the window and clinging to the strong thick vine on the side of the tower, she slowly slid down inch by inch, carefully trying not to make a sound when she made her landing. As quiet as a mouse, she tiptoed to the back of the castle only to find the guards guarding the back entrance. She picked up a few pebbles and rocks on the ground and flung them onto the opposite side of the tower, hitting one the guards on his irony head gear, sending metal clink banging in his head.   
  
Covering her mouth, she took a run for it, while all the guards rushed to the injured guard's aid.   
  
Running as fast as she could, as if her life depended on it so she wouldn't lose any visitation time with Amador, she rushed through the woods and came knocking on the door.   
  
Straightening out her dress, and fixing her hair quickly, just in time when the door cracked opened with Amador standing by it, a smile spread across her face at the sight of him.  
  
"It's been a while," Amador joked.  
  
"It sure has been," Delphine went along, "Aren't you going to invite me in? Or are you just going to let me stand here in the cold?"   
  
"Depends," he smartly replied, "What's the secret code?"  
  
Without even bothering to reply, she leaned in and kissed him.  
  
"You get it right every time." He swept her off her feet and carried her in, kicking the door shut with the back of his foot.  
  
He let her back down to her feet in the middle of the room, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as his were around her waist, and she gazed into his eyes lovingly and whispered, "I missed you."  
  
"I missed you, too." With that, he lowered his lips of hers and devoured her with lustful and desirable kisses. Suddenly, a throaty sound rushed up her esophagus. She quickly let go of the kiss, and then there it goes again. A big gulp of distasteful food crawled up her throat and came out her mouth, spilling all over the wooden floor, and Amador jumped back a few feet disgustedly, then finally asked worriedly, "Are you all right?"  
  
Before answering, she let out another pile on the floor.   
  
"Does that answer your question?" she asked out of breath.  
  
"All right, come on sit down." Amador ordered, as he grabbed two clean rags and gave one to Delphine to wipe her mouth off with, settling her down onto the bed, and then with the other rag he covered the mess on the floor. "Have you been sick?" he asked.  
  
"A little, I suppose." she answered, covering her mouth with the rag.  
  
"You shouldn't be out so late if you're sick. It's unhealthy," he lectured her, while getting up to get her a cup of water.  
  
"It wasn't anything serious," she replied, "Just a little head rush now and then. And besides don't you want to see me?"  
  
"Of course I want to see you, darling," Amador said, handing her the cup of water. "I'm only looking out for your health." He then suggested, "Perhaps you should see a doctor."  
  
"I don't need to see a doctor. I'm perfectly well, don't you see?" Delphine replied stubbornly.  
  
"No, you're sick," he argued. "It would make me feel a thousand times better if you would consider seeing a doctor."   
  
"But, what if something is really wrong with me, then I wouldn't be able to see you anymore."  
  
"Would you prefer it if I take you to see a doctor?" Amador asked.  
  
"Really?"   
  
"Yes, my father used to be good friends with this man who's a doctor. I can ask him for a late meeting and we can go. Then we can go to an apothecary if necessary."   
  
"Sure."   
  
"Great." Amador said then kissed her on the cheek.   
  
Many more nights had passed and the appointment hadn't been set up yet. Until one full moon night when the day had come, her appointment had been set up.  
  
Doing the same routine like every night since spring, she sneaked out to Amador's cabin and met up with him.  
  
"Are you sure he won't recognize me?" Delphine asked worriedly about her getup. It was a disguise just so no one, particularly the doctor, would know who she was. Dressed in Amador's late mother's clothes, she strolled down the deserted street linking arms with her lover.   
  
"Yes, I doubt that anyone could possibly recognize you under all that makeup," Amador answered, looking adoringly at her. "Are you nervous?"  
  
"Just a bit jittery," Delphine answered, taking in a deep breath.  
  
"It'll be fine," He assured her.  
  
"Just hope so."  
  
Soon they reached their destination.  
  
Knocking on the door nervously, Delphine took a deep breath as Amador wrapped his protective arm around her. Gripping onto the back of his shirt tightly, the door opened and out came a jolly voice, "Well, hello. Welcome to my home."   
  
Hours were spent in the doctor's house talking about Delphine's condition. They were finally released when the full moon sat high in the night sky, showing them their way back into the wood.  
  
"It can't be," she murmured.   
  
"It'll be all right," Amador said lowly.  
  
"Will you stop saying that?" she yelled in rage, "It will not be all right!"  
  
"Calm down, calm down." He grabbed her and pulled her in for an embrace. "Everything will work out."  
  
"You won't be saying that when I'm dead," she muffled against his chest.   
  
"No, listen to me." He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "You're not going to die."   
  
Said nothing, she buried her face into his chest and tears of fear just started rolling down her cheeks. Holding onto her tightly, he nestled his face into the crook of her neck and cried along.   
  
Standing there for as long as they could, they finally let go of each other and wiped one another's tears away.   
  
"I love you, no matter what," he assured her.   
  
Leaning down to kiss her, she suddenly interrupted, "I can't return home now."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I can't. I just can't." Delphine trembled with the words, "My mother, she'll kill me. Literally!"   
  
"You don't know that for sure."  
  
"Knowing my mother, she'll do just about anything to keep her reputation clean." She looked at him intensely.  
  
"Where are you going to stay?"  
  
"Your place," she answered a bit hastily.  
  
"My place?" he inquired, shocked by her suggestion. "What will we eat?"  
  
"I brought some gold with me, it'll be enough to cover us."   
  
"You are completely out of your mind."  
  
Grabbing his arms, she pulled him along and ran to her castle.  
  
"What are we doing here? It's dangerous." Amador whispered to her behind the thick bushes.  
  
"I'll gather my clothes and some more gold, and we're off." She answered just about when she about to walk out of the bushes.   
  
"You know making an attempt to run will not solve any of your problems?"   
  
"But it will spare a life," she shot back, then she ran off. Amador reached out his hand to grab her back, but unfortunately she was one fast girl. He was about to call out for her, and then suddenly remembered the guards, so he closed his mouth.  
  
Watching her climbing those vines just amazed him. He'd never seen such a daring, energetic and spontaneous girl before. To think about it, she had more nerves than he'd ever have.   
  
Distracted by her waving from the tower, he looked up and motioned his "what" look to her. She held up a luggage of clothes, signaling for him to come and catch it. He ran quickly to the tower, and Delphine let the luggage slip through her fingers and drop to the ground. Before it could reach the ground, Amador dived in and caught it. Smiling at him, she then grabbed a small velvet bag and tied it onto the lacing that was draped around her waist and started climbing back down the window.  
  
Terrified that she might fall, he moved wherever she moved to catch her in case she fell. But, surprisingly, she made it down safely.   
  
"Let's go." She grabbed his hand and about to walk off, but unexpectedly the guard cut them off. Gasping in horror, Amador clocked the guard with the luggage and off they went, the rest of the guards still occupied on the lookout on the other side of the castle.   
  
Running for their lives, they finally reached the wood.   
  
Opening the door for Delphine, Amador then placed the luggage by the nightstand and picked her up to swirl her around the room.   
  
"We did it!" he shouted.  
  
Laughing uncontrollably, Amador set her down onto her feet and gave her a peck on her lips.   
  
"Not yet," Delphine answered with a tad of concernedness in her voice.   
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The guard saw us." Delphine looked up at him with worry in her eyes. "He'll eventually report us back to my mother."  
  
"Where else can we go?" Amador asked.   
  
"I don't know, but I can't let mother find me. She'll tear me into shreds." Delphine said, frightened for her life by her mother. "We have to leave immediately…before dawn approaches."  
  
"To where?"  
  
"Wherever the moonlight will lead us." she answered.   
  
"What will we be traveling by?" Amador asked bewilderingly, "I haven't got a horse."   
  
"We'll find one, one way or another. Just as long as it leads us to the last place my mother would think of, of finding us."  
  
"You mean like steal one?" Amador questioned in outrage.  
  
"Certainly you don't expect us to walk barefooted, now do you?"  
  
"That's such an exaggeration."   
  
"Well, how do you suppose we travel?"  
  
"I don't know, but certainly we aren't going to steal."   
  
"Fine. I'll just leave some gold for them in return." She settled the argument. "We don't have time for arguments. We have to leave if we wish to keep our heads."  
  
Sighing deeply, Amador gathered his belongings and then turned to the nightstand to pick up the wooden frame that contained his mother's picture, wrapping rags over it so it wouldn't be damaged on the way.   
  
"I'm ready," he said, sadly taking a look around the empty room.  
  
Nodding her head, they interlaced their hands together and out the door they went.   
  
Following the moonlight trail, an army of guards suddenly stopped them… 


	4. Chapter IV: The Pain

Chapter IV  
  
The Pain  
  
"Well, well, well," one of the guards spoke up a tad rudely in a deep, throaty voice. "Look what we have here."   
  
"What do you want?" Delphine asked in fear, afraid it might be one of her guards.  
  
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Another one made a pass at her, "You're too pretty."  
  
Quite disturbed by their remarks, Amador soon frowned at this, and placed his arm around Delphine's shoulder to protect her from the sick perverts. The first two guards attempted to step closer but without a flinch, Amador pushed Delphine behind him to shield her from having to deal with them.   
  
"Stay away from her," he threatened in his toughest voice.   
  
"Or what?" The guard that had made the pass took a step forward. "You'll hurt us?"   
  
"If you know what's good for you, then stay out of this," Another guard said, stepping forward. "We don't want any more trouble than you do. All we want is your girl." The guard pushed Amador aside, and grabbed the young princess by the arm forcefully and pulled her to their side.   
  
"Let me go!" she cried, struggling against the guard's grip, but he was too strong for her weakling body.  
  
As Amador was about to lunge forward to grab Delphine back, another guard stopped him and kicked hard in his abdomen, and he doubled over, grabbing onto his stomach in pain, causing him to gag and choke. The guard picked up his leg and nailed him into the back, which sent Amador falling onto his knees and flat on the floor. "We told you all we wanted is the girl, shouldn't have fought us."   
  
"Amador!" Delphine yelled out desperately for her lover, who was lying on the wood ground gasping for air helplessly. She struggled, trying to break her way free and lunged forward, trying to run to Amador, but the guard's grip was too tight.   
  
"Uh, uh, uh." The guard pulled her back into a tighter grip. "You're not going anywhere, pretty little one." He placed his lips on the crook of her neck and blew puffs of air on her neck, sending chills down her back as she turned her face away from Amador's vision and shrugged her shoulder to sweep his sick breath off of her. "See that? She enjoys it." He smiled wickedly, and then kicked Amador a few more times in the stomach.   
  
"Get your hands off of me you dirty monster!" she yelped, continued to protest. "Amador, help me, please!"   
  
Swinging her over his shoulder, he carried her off to another part of the wood as the others followed, and started fondling her while she kicked and screamed, crying out for Amador.   
  
Apparently these guards didn't seem to know who she was as they took turns taking their pleasure out on her, exploiting her sacred body.   
  
After each one finished, they patted her cheeks while chuckling, causing her to flinch every time, and then whispered something revolting into her ears which almost made her squirm.  
  
The cries were tormenting, but there was nothing Amador could do. He was too weak to get up and too fragile to pick a fight. He crawled to her as much as he could, inch by inch, letting out a small whimper as he crawled. But, it was too late when he was half way there. He saw them running out of the forest, chattering to one another and laughing.   
  
He knew what they had done to his precious Delphine, and he hated himself for not being able to protect her.   
  
Pulling her dress to cover her bare chest, she sobbed uncontrollably. Hot tears freely strolled down her pale cheeks like waterfalls. She felt so dirty and shamed. Dirty because she'd let those bastards touched her. And shamed because she had let a bunch of men intrude her body.   
  
Wiping off her tears, she put her ruffled dress back on. She bravely pulled herself up to go find Amador.   
  
Stumbling with each step, she finally worked up enough energy to walk normal again.   
  
Searching through the dark wood, she called out his name every step she took, "Amador?" she called. "Amador! Please answer me."   
  
Not too far away, Amador crawled slowly, following her once angelic voice that was now cracked into a raspy, throaty tone like an old woman's.  
  
"Delphine!" he tried to call out for her, but didn't make it any further than one foot.   
  
"Amador, please answer me," she cried again.   
  
Pacing slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself to protect her from the darkness. Suddenly a whimper startled her. Jumping at the sound, she twirled herself around and then again, another whimper let out.  
  
"Delphine!" A raspy voice called out for her. She was only feet away from him. Running toward the voice, she finally saw Amador lying vulnerably on the ground.   
  
  
  
"Amador." She dashed to his side immediately to help him. "Oh, Amador," she cried, as she picked Amador's head up and let him rest on her lap.   
  
"Delphine," he began.  
  
"I'm here," she took his hand.  
  
"It was all my fault," he spoke weakly. "I should've protected you from those monstrous men."   
  
"No, it wasn't your fault," she shook her head as more tears welled up her eyes. "There was nothing you could've done. It was an army against you."  
  
"I could've done something." he forced himself to get up. "Dear God, what have they done to you?" He weakly brought his hand to her tangled hair and picked out some leaves that were stuck in her brown wavy locks and gently ran his hand through it. Bringing it down to her cheeks he softly caressed it.  
  
Unable control her emotion, she broke down as her hand trembled up to meet his and pressed it against her cheek.   
  
"Don't cry." He brushed her tears away. "It's going to be fine."   
  
Without saying another word she helped him sit up straight then jumped into his embrace and cried in his arms. With all his might, he pulled her in for a tighter embrace.   
  
Shifting himself into a more comfortable position, he flipped her hair behind her ear and spotted a dark spot on her neck.   
  
He ran his thumb through it and kissed it, as if it was going to wash away her pain. He brought her face to his and he could see the pain in her eyes. They had hurt her as much as they had hurt him. He could feel it in his bones.   
  
"Don't let me go." She sobbed, her voice barely audible, "Ever."  
  
Rocking back and forth in each other's arms and slowly drifting away, Amador carefully laid Delphine down onto the ground. Gazing at her intensely, tears of seeing her in pain sprung up his eyes. Bringing his hand up to her face, he delicately swept away a few strands of hair from her face, and then ran his hand down to her neck where the bruise was at, and then to her shoulder. Circling his fingers around that area, he brushed the sleeve off her shoulder, which revealed a red hand mark imprinted on her skin.  
  
With his hand trembling, he traced his finger on the outline of imprint. Doing the same thing to her other shoulder, another imprint was revealed.   
  
Shaking his head, not wanting to believe what had happened, he leaned forward and snuggled in the curve of her neck and laid himself next to her.  
  
Waking up to birds chirping above their heads and the sun peaking out over the mountaintop, Delphine's eyes fluttered open, and she found them lying on the rough, leafy ground.  
  
Sitting up slowly, Delphine rubbed her eyes lazily and took a look at her surroundings.   
  
"Amador," she called hoarsely, shaking him.  
  
"Hmm," he replied sleepily.  
  
"We have to go," she panicked.  
  
"Go where?" he asked, attempting to stand up.  
  
"Get out of the city before my mother sends guards looking for me."   
  
"We don't have time."   
  
"Please."  
  
"No," he refused, "You need to go home."  
  
"What?" she shrieked. Her eyes were filled with hurtfulness and puzzlement. "You can't mean that. No. Please."  
  
"I can't put you in anymore danger," Amador firmly stated. "I care for you too much to see you get hurt again because of me."  
  
"It wasn't your fault!" she yelled. "Please reconsider," she pleaded grabbing onto his arm. "I can't go back."  
  
"You have to." he brushed her off. "There are just things that aren't meant to be." He said grinding through his teeth, trying not to get emotional. "And we're one of them."  
  
"You don't really believe that, do you?" She shook her head, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "Think about us, think about what we have!"  
  
"There is no 'us.' And there will never be. We have nothing. Go home. Go!" He roared, as if all his feelings for her had turned into a black empty hole. "I don't want to see you anymore." He then abruptly walked away without having a little courtesy to even say good-bye.  
  
"Don't, please. If you're not going to think about me, at least think of our child!" she yelled after him. Her voice had cracked through the wood, and boomed in his head. "I love you!"  
  
Keeping his head up, he picked up his pace and got as far from her as possible. He just wanted to kill himself for doing this. He loved her, dammit! And he loved the little miracle that was inside of her. But some things just weren't meant to be, and they were one of them. Fate had brought them together, and now Fate was ready to break them apart.   
  
  
  
Heart shattered into millions of pieces, Delphine fell onto her knees without even realizing it and broke down. She felt like someone had shot an arrow into her heart, and it was definitely not Cupid.  
  
How could she have been so stupid to fall in love with a peasant? How could she have been so dumb to believe everything he'd ever said to her? Why hadn't she listened to her mother when she'd said that peasants were no good? Maybe because she was blinded by her love for him and never thought this day would ever come.   
  
He could hear her cries, her cries to be loved and to be cherished. Her cries were even more powerful than her words. He wanted to run to her and bundle her up in his arms and kiss her tears away, tell her everything would work out, but he couldn't; he had to stay strong. It was for the best…for the both of them.   
  
Hours had gone by and high noon approached. Guards were now scattered all around town searching for Delphine. Her name was boomed from door to door, posters were hung from street to street, and townspeople were frantically searching for her, competing with each other so that they could get the reward.  
  
Wandering around the street looking miserable, streaks of dried tears stuck to her cheeks, her puffy red tearful eyes were visible to the public. Her dress was somewhat torn, her face was dirty, and her once shiny honey brown hair was now frizzy and tangled from the attack. She was undeniably unrecognizable.   
  
Minding her own business, she suddenly bumped into a tall, dark figure, which almost knocked her off her feet considering she was in a weakened condition.  
  
"I'm sorry," she murmured without looking up.  
  
"Princess?" the deep voice uttered, recognizing her voice.  
  
She slowly looked up with gloomy eyes; it turned out that the figure was one of her guards. Glancing at him for a few seconds, she suddenly felt light-headed and her knees collapsed. The guard quickly shot out his arms, and the princess's limp body fell right into them.   
  
Fear quickly filled his eyes as he gathered the princess up in his arms and rushed back to the castle.  
  
"The Princess has fainted," he called out, bursting into the front lawn of the palace.   
  
"The Princess had been found," Another guard hollered to notify everyone in the castle as the first guard ran past him. "Call off the search," he told another guard so that he could pass on the message.  
  
"What happened?" The queen and the king rushed out into the lawn, staring in horror at their daughter's motionless body.  
  
A few servants had followed them in case of any help was needed.  
  
"I found her wandering in the street and she just fainted," the guard explained.   
  
"Bring her to her room," the king ordered, then turned to one of his servants, "Send the best doctor you can find at once."  
  
"He will be at the princess's service right away, your highness." The servant bowed, and quickly went off.  
  
Day finally shifted into night, and the old summer breeze swished and whooshed in a soothing rhythm once again. The moonlight, blazed glisteningly into Amador's mysterious blue eyes, sending a bounce of crystal spark reflections.   
  
As he shut his eyes, a cold tear that had been sitting on the bottom of his eyelid shifted to the corner of his eye, and rolled to the side.   
  
"Delphine," he whispered to the sky. Thoughts of her had never left his mind since the day they met. Questioning his own actions, he now asked himself whether or not it was a mistake giving up on her and their child. Just the thought of him being a father brought a smile to his face. Oh, how he would love to hold that little bundle of joy in his arms. However, now that little bundle of joy was gone along with his joy. He wondered what the little miracle would be, a boy or a girl? "Doesn't matter," he told himself, "What's the point of even thinking about it? It doesn't even exist. Don't torture yourself."  
  
Sitting in a room, with only one lit candle to light up the invasion of darkness, Delphine laid peacefully in bed with her arms across her chest like a mummy.   
  
Then the back of a hand was softly placed on her forehead, and then quickly removed.   
  
"She should be cooling down in no time," an old raspy voice said, "Give her this everyday," He handed another figure a piece of wrapped paper which contained some herbal medicine and continued, "and her wound should recover in no time."   
  
"Thank you, doctor," a soft voice replied, taking the medicine. "Just hope she won't go ballistic when she wakes up."  
  
The doctor let out a weak smile, then exited the room.   
  
Letting out a sigh, she softly caressed Delphine's cheek. "I'm doing this for your own good," she whispered to Delphine and removed the sweaty strands of hair from her face.  
  
  
  
Suddenly a soft moan escaped Delphine's lips as she turned her head from side to side.   
  
"Delphine," a feminine voice called.   
  
Continuing to stir, she let out a small cry and the moaning was beginning to become continuous.   
  
"Amador," she cried out his name.  
  
"Amador?" the feminine voice whispered, somewhat bewildered by the name. She never heard such a name. Amador? What kind of name is Amador? Could he be the one that had impregnated her? Who the heck was this Amador?   
  
Ignoring this for just now, she returned her thoughts back to Delphine.  
  
"Please, don't!" Delphine kicked and screamed into the air.  
  
"Delphine. Wake up!" she panicked, and shook her.  
  
"Mother?" she groaned, fluttering her eyes weakly.  
  
"I'm here," the queen replied, grabbing onto her daughter's hand.  
  
"Mother." She tried to sit up, "AHH!" She let out a yelp. Her body was aching, and from her mid-body down, it felt as if she was paralyzed.   
  
"Don't try to move, darling." The queen gently laid her back down. "You're still weak."  
  
"Why is my body hurting?" she cried, trying to support herself up again.  
  
"You've been hurt severely," her mother explained, thinking back to all the bruises the doctor had examined on her body.  
  
"No," Delphine shook her head, "No," Remembering what happened. She remembered what happened in the morning. What had been said and settled. It was coming back to her; the love of her life had abandoned her and their child.   
  
Closing her eyes, she placed her hands on her abdomen, and a sharp pain sent her bending further over. And a powerful scream of agony thundered through the castle.   
  
"Delphine, don't!" The queen lunged forward and set her back on her back. "It's going to be all right. Don't lunge forward."  
  
"It hurts!" she whimpered, "It hurts, mother."  
  
"I know." She brought Delphine closer to her. "I know."  
  
"Why?" She uttered as much as she could, because every time she talked, she felt a painful twinge shooting through her body.   
  
"Enough talk," her mother firmed commanded. "You need your rest."  
  
Not daring to back talk her mother, she hushed up and carefully laid her head back down onto the pillow and hands on her stomach. She lightly massaged it and felt a small bump. She ran her fingers along the bump and discovered several more, and she immediately realized something was wrong.   
  
Pulling her nightgown up, not caring of her mother's presence, she looked down shockingly at her bruised and stitched up belly, as more tears flooded up her eyes, knowing now what had happened.   
  
"Mother." she looked up horrifyingly, "How?"  
  
"It had to be done." her mother harshly responded. It sounded as if it her voice was filled with pure evil.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Delphine yelled in indignation. "You killed my child?"  
  
"It was for the sake of this family," her mother reasoned. "I have to keep this family in line. We are royals, Delphine. The others looked upon us. I can't have my only daughter running around and coming home with child. It's disgraceful," she spoke in a stern voice, while pacing around. "You know Delphine, you have brought shame to this family and your father and I decided it was best if we get rid of that little brat of yours. We're saving you from your own humiliation and this is how you thank us? And who's this Amador?" she suddenly blurted out.  
  
"Thank you for what? For killing my child?" she shrieked, looking disgustedly at her own mother, ignoring her other question. "The only thing that gives me a reason to live?"  
  
"What are you babbling about, 'the only thing that gives you a reason to live'?" she bellowed outrageously, like every other noble woman when they were hit with startling news. "You and Henrik are to be wed in two months."  
  
"I'm not marrying him," she protested, gripping her hand on her stomach trying to suppress the dire pain.   
  
"You're what?" her mother shrieked, shooting an evil glance at her.  
  
"I'm not marrying him," she repeated. "I don't love him!"  
  
"I don't care if you love him or not. You're getting married," her mother insisted forcefully as she about to let herself out. "You'll learn to love him." She then quickly added, "And we'll discuss this little incident of yours in the morning."  
  
Falling back onto her pillow, she curled up on her side, ignoring the sharp pain and pulled the cover to her chest, then silently cried herself to sleep.   
  
Sliding her hand to her belly, which once held a little miracle, she pressed her hand against it to cause more pain, as she shut her eyes tightly and bit her bottom lip to absorb those awful twinges.   
  
Tears rapidly traveled from one eye to the other and slid down to the pillow, and she slowly drifted away as tears continued to fall.   
  
All of a sudden an appalling wail startled her out of her sleep.   
  
Ignoring it, she shut her eyes tightly to block all images from her vision, and covered her ears to block out all the sounds. However, it didn't do much help, as the wailing grew louder and became constant.   
  
"Stop, please, stop!" she begged, still keeping her eyes shut and ears closed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."   
  
"Momma," a sweet innocent little voice called. "Momma."  
  
The voice just sent chills down Delphine's spine. It was so innocent, so little, so sweet, and yet so eerie. Goosebumps covered her arms, as a rush of tingling feelings invaded her face, her hair standing up straight, and her body felt ice cold.   
  
The mixture of the wailing and the calling was uncontrollable. Dismissing it only caused it to become more intolerable.  
  
As she couldn't stand it any longer, she shot up from her bed and yelled out like a maniac, "CAN IT!!!"  
  
"Leave me alone," she screeched sending servants bursting into her room.  
  
"Princess, it's all right." One of the servants came rushing to her side and grabbed a hold of her. "Calm down."  
  
"NO! Leave me alone!" She shook like a lunatic, brushing her servant off.   
  
"What's wrong?" The king and queen sprinted passed the servants.  
  
"It seemed like the young princess had a bad dream," the servant who was trying to calm her nervously replied.  
  
The royal parents exchanged worried looks with each other and hurried to their daughter's side.  
  
"Delphine, what's wrong?" The king tried to grab her back, but with no luck, she brushed him off.  
  
"Don't touch me!"   
  
"What do we do?" asked a panicked queen who was standing behind the king.  
  
"She's going insane!" the king stated, while trying to make another attempt to control her.  
  
Finally getting control of her, he pinned her down as she settled down and shed more tears, yet her hand kept close to her stomach.  
  
The pain of hearing those cries and calling was much stronger than her physical pain. It was like nothing she ever had felt before. Her body was throbbing with pain, her heart was stabbed with agony, and her mind was playing tricks on her. But, none of those matched up to the call of the spirit.  
  
"It's alright." the king whispered. "You're home."  
  
Struggling to look up, she shook her head and managed to pick up her head up enough to face her father.  
  
"Why?" she murmured, "What had she ever done to you?"  
  
"It was for the best," the king replied in a low tone, making sure the servant couldn't hear him. He then turned to them and ordered, "You all are dismissed."  
  
Stepping back toward the door, they let themselves out.  
  
"How can you stand there and tell me it was for the best when you murdered my child?" she yelled in rage.   
  
"We're done with this discussion." He turned away from her.   
  
"No, we've just begun to discuss this!" she retorted. It was the first time she had ever talked back to him.  
  
"How dare you talk to me like that?!" he twirled around and roared, which frightened her. "Do you know what shame you have brought to this family? How dare you try to humiliate your mother and me?"  
  
Choked up, as she wasn't able to utter anything else, she looked away and kept her mouth shut.   
  
She knew if she had spoken up, something regrettable would spill from her lips and then she wouldn't be able to take it back.  
  
Staying silent, her parents then turned and walked out, leaving her alone again.  
  
She was lucky and surprised that they hadn't even bothered to bring up who might be the father of her child. It seemed somewhat unusual, as they always tried to figure out what she was doing with herself all day, locking herself in her room. Maybe they were on to her but decided to give her some time to recover before bringing her in for further investigation. 


	5. Chapter V: The Wedding

Chapter V  
  
The Wedding  
  
Months had passed, and the season changed. Days were shorter and time flew. The dull afternoon sun cast a shadow over the peak of the tower, and puffy white clouds moved slowly in rhythm with the autumn wind.   
  
The fresh green leaves of the delightful spring and dreadful summer were turning red, orange, yellow, and brown all at once, leaving a small fraction of it's green members behind still resting peacefully on few of the bony branches.   
  
The big day was coming closer and closer as winter approached. The day had been set back so that she could recover from her unspeakable injury. Her wound had closed up properly, but still scars were left behind. Her pain and memory were still as fresh and vivid as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and so on.   
  
The love was gone, disappeared, vanished into oblivion, but the emotional scars that were left behind had never left her side.   
  
The world was cruel and cold. At least that was the way she saw it. People said one thing, but did another. "Hypocrites," she bitterly spat, followed by a forceful chuckle. She laid her right hand on her stomach, clutched it tightly and took in a deep breath.  
  
Sure, the wound had healed and returned to normal, but the excruciating pain was within her internal organs and trapped in her conscience. She could feel a light twinge now and then. She could feel it in her sleep, in her dreams, and in her mind.   
  
Time had surely passed, but the taunting cries certainly had not. It seemed as though it wanted to hurt her, to get revenge on what she had done, through no fault of her own. It wanted her to suffer as much as it did. Its life that had been taken away by her mother's hand because she hadn't protected it, its tiny life that she had destroyed.  
  
Ever since that day, her life had taken a drastic turn: Her once sweet, innocent look had turned sultry and lustful. Her manner was more demanding and direct. She was aggressive and destructive. If things didn't go her way, the target of her anger was sure to never see the light of day again. Her gentleness had turned into bitterness. She had used all her anger towards Amador and the loss of her baby, and turned it against everyone.   
  
Her enchanting smile was now orbed with pure evilness. Her angelic voice was roaring with immorality. She was a completely different person.   
  
Her parents were worried for her, but at the same time they were glad to see she was out of the dark. Everything they'd planned for her ever since she was born was finally arriving.   
  
She was only days away from the wedding.  
  
Lifting her head up high, she leapt onto her feet and walked to her wardrobe cabinet.   
  
Opening the doors, she smiled to herself and pulled out a luxurious wedding gown made completely out of Chinese silk and see-through flower-patterned lace forming along the long sleeves.   
  
She then pulled out a veil that was about several feet long from her heels down which also connected to the second veil on the front to hide her face.  
  
Placing it gently on her head, she swirled around in it, and suddenly was interrupted by her future husband.  
  
"Henrik," she chimed, quickly removing the veil.  
  
"What are you doing, darling?" he asked with a smirk, seeing how beautiful she was.  
  
"I was just trying on the veil, that's all." She hung it back in the cabinet along with the dress.  
  
"So, I see." He stepped in further.  
  
  
  
"What are you doing here so early?" she questioned, turning her attention to him. "I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"I wanted to surprise you." He walked closer and kissed her cheek.  
  
"Better luck next time," she said with lack of enthusiasm.  
  
"What do you mean? Weren't you surprised?"  
  
"I saw your men from the window entering the gate."   
  
"Oh." he said, with slight disappointment. "Can you imagine, the happiest day of our lives is just days away." He changed the subject.  
  
"Yes, happiest," she intoned, looking down on the ground.  
  
"What's the matter, my dear?" Henrik asked in concern. "Aren't you happy?"  
  
Pacing around and looking out the window, she saw the same smoky puff from the forest that she had seen months ago when she was thinking about Amador. Amador! God, that name! She now despised it as much as she had despised Henrik months ago and still did. Turning her head around, she looked up at him and replied casually, "Why shouldn't I be?" she mocked him. "I'm getting married," she added, with a hint of bitterness hidden underneath her jolly voice.   
  
"I'm glad you feel that way." He came closer to her and kissed her cheek again. "I was worried for a minute there." He then lifted up her face. "You know how much I hate rejections."  
  
She gave him a weak smile and turned her face out of his touch, walking past him. If only you knew. She thought, laughing in her mind at his stupidity.  
  
I wonder if he has any concept of how much I despise him, how much I hate him, she thought as she walked out of the room.  
  
***  
  
The credit was running through the dark screen as Piper clicked the stop button, and ejected the DVD out of the machine.  
  
"Ok, I'm really tired now," she yawned, and stretched like a cat and headed up stairs. "Night," she waved her hand weakly out at Phoebe and Cole.   
  
"Yeah, we should go to bed, too." Cole responded, and patted Phoebe's lap telling her to get up.  
  
  
  
"Go ahead, I'll be up in a minute." Phoebe said, resting the side of her head on the palm of her hand, and her legs curled up on the couch.  
  
"Phoebe you need your rest. Especially a person in your condition." Cole insisted, standing in front of her.   
  
"It won't be long. I just want to be alone for a minute," Phoebe said avoiding his eyes.   
  
"What's wrong, honey?" Cole knelt down next to her, and cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look at him.  
  
"I'm just thinking about the dream and how it related to the movie."  
  
"Serendipity?"  
  
"No, the movie before that," Phoebe answered. "What if that really did happen to us in the past?"  
  
"I'm just happy we're together now." Cole kissed her forehead. "What happened in the past stays in the past; we're here and together now, and that's all that should matter." He offered her his hand, she clasped them together, and Cole helped her up and led her upstairs.  
  
***  
  
Wedding bells rang as a massive horde assembled around the outside gate of the château hoping to get a glimpse of the bride and the charming prince.  
  
An army of guards was released to remove the people away from the château, protecting it from having psychos barging into the gate and causing disruptions.   
  
Far from the enchanting estate sat a mindless Amador against the brick wall. He could hear people cheering from afar, clapping, and chattering to one another.   
  
Chuckling bitterly to himself, he picked out the bark from the wood in front of him, knowing what the day was.   
  
She didn't belong to him anymore, never did, never would. She belonged to her own group of people.   
  
Heading down the aisle, trying to balance herself, she stiffly paced forward. Each step was like a step closer to hell. She couldn't turn back now, not now—not in front of a room filled with innumerable people who were joining her and Henrik in celebrating their holy matrimony.  
  
Heads turned and gasps of amazement and astonishment thundered through the hollow chamber. Her big brown eyes suddenly took in her surroundings, and the more she looked at the people, the more nervous she became. She could feel her hands sweating against the stems of the bouquet. Shaking the image out of her head, she refocused herself on walking down the aisle.  
  
Henrik stood tall and proud on the podium, as he swiftly turned his head to face his alluring bride, a smile of victory forming on the corner of his mouth. Standing next to him was a chubby priest.   
  
Everything was in order; they're about to be married. Nothing could go wrong after this. The plan was about to be sealed with a kiss.   
  
Having no idea how she felt about this, she continued to walk forward, looking blankly at the guests and up ahead her proud parents.  
  
It was time.   
  
Slowly stepping up onto the podium, she drew her last breath of life, in a sense of leaving her childhood life—and the small portion of life she had shared with Amador—behind. She turned and faced Henrik, who was smiling excitedly at her.  
  
The priest's voice was roaring and throaty. She guessed it was because he had to speak loud enough for everyone to hear him. He nearly blew out her eardrums.   
  
It's time for the vow, and that's what you're thinking about? Delphine cursed herself. Focus Delphine, it's almost over. Turning her attention back to the priest and Henrik, she gave Henrik a fake assuring smile that she was still in reality and not off in her fantasy world again.   
  
Outside, Amador looked vacantly at the deserted street. He sucked in a breath of fresh air and gripped tightly onto the timber that was in his hand. Immediately crumbs of barks fell onto the ground, and he smashed the log down onto the concrete ground, causing bark to litter all over the place.   
  
Drawing another breath of air to calm himself down, he felt a teardrop fall onto the ground. Trying to pull himself together, he sat back onto the small wooden stool, and thought of their happier times together.   
  
Which brought him to a lingering thought that he'd been having for a while ever since their separation: He wondered how she would explain the baby to Henrik, or even better, how would she explain it to her parents. And those bruises—those nasty bruises that covered her flawless skin that had been beaten until the blood got clogged up on certain spots of her body from the brutal night, which he had never forgiven himself for.   
  
He would have never in a million years thought that her parents would be cruel enough of take a life of a child, especially one that belonged to their daughter. Sure, Delphine had told him about her mother, but he was certain that she had been exaggerating because she'd been worried for her own well-being as well as the unborn child's if she had to face her mother, so he assumed she had made up lies so she wouldn't have to go home.  
  
He always imaged the baby would look like Delphine, especially if it were a girl. She would inherit her mother's soft brown eyes, her wavy, silky honey-brown locks, that to-die-for smile, her light beige complexion, her spunky attitude, and her charming charisma. His kid would definitely be the talk of the town. If it were a boy, he would have his blue eyes, his mother's hair colour, and not so much of his personality that had gotten him to the point where he wanted to kill himself because of a girl he can't have.  
  
He guessed they must have kept it hush-hush since he hadn't heard anything from the townspeople. This was a small town, and things go from one's ear to one's mouth quite speedily. If it was your business, it was everyone's business. Somehow, someway people always managed to find one thing and linked it to another that made it out to be their business. Things weren't moderately secretive here, as everyone liked it to be.   
  
Cheers erupted throughout the entire castle as Henrik and Delphine stepped hand-in-hand off the podium and walked out of the chamber.  
  
A few days later, Delphine was up in her new room in her new home, staring out the window like she always used to when she was alone in her old room.   
  
Things were so definitely different here, the language, the food, and the customs. How would she ever adapt to this kind of life? People expected certain things from her, and when she couldn't or wouldn't meet up to their expectations, they gave her weird and disapproving looks, mainly Henrik's older sister, Gabrielle; she always criticized her.   
  
And Henrik had been a pretty good sport, sticking up for her. Even to the point where he had to argue with her. His sister's approval of the things he did was always important to him, but ever since they had gotten married, things had changed…for the better if not the worse.   
  
To think about it, Henrik wasn't all that bad. He had been pretty good to her.   
  
However, sibling rivalries were constant, and the hatred towards Delphine was growing. It seemed like Gabrielle had gotten the whole town to hate her… though Chloë had been very supportive of her and stood up for her, which only got Gabrielle more upset.   
  
Despite what her husband told her, Gabrielle refused to calm down and accused Delphine of being a home-wrecker who had her own family turned against her, even her own husband.  
  
"Gabrielle, listen to yourself. You're going mad," Leonardo pleaded, in their room.  
  
"I will not have that little gypsy walk into this family and have them all turn on me," Gabrielle protested, gesturing her hand all over the place.  
  
"But there's a sensible way of approaching her," Leonardo reasoned. "You don't have to jump on her back every time she walks pass you."   
  
"Shows how much you know about the home-wrecker," she spat. "Ever since mother died, I have tried my best along with father to keep this place in order. I'm not going to let her march in here and think she can rule this place. She even induced Chloë to take her side. My little sister, who always looked up to me."  
  
"She still does."   
  
"Not since that little gypsy got here," she bitterly spouted.  
  
"Why don't you let it go, and try to make peace with her?" Leonardo asked. "I think she hates this as much as you do. You're older than her; you know better."   
  
"How dare you say that? You of all people should know that I am not the type to person who cleans up messes!"  
  
With that, she swiftly turned, and walked away, leaving Leonardo behind. He sighed and let her be; there was no use trying to knock any sense into her anyway.   
  
Wandering around in the back yard, Delphine looked up in the clear sky and spotted the Polaris. She remembered when she was younger, she used to look up at the starry sky and name all the stars she could find and played connect the dots. Sometimes she made up the strangest picture, and then named it the strangest of names.   
  
She had once spotted a shooting star and quickly made a wish upon the star. It's not likely for anyone to spot shooting stars, since they're so rare. And no one paid attention to them anyway.   
  
She recalled that she had wished to be swept off her feet by a charming prince, and then they would live happily ever happier.  
  
Is this supposed to be part of my wish? she questioned the sky. I wished for a charming prince, right? And I got it, so why am I so ungrateful? Next time watch what you wish for, she noted to herself.  
  
Her view of Henrik may have changed, but her ideal man hadn't.   
  
Henrik had been wonderful to her, but something in her kept nagging. This isn't right, this whole charade. It's a set-up. Get out. Run!   
  
Run where? she asked, and then snickered bitterly. This is my life now. My home. My imprisonment.   
  
"Delphine?" Chloë called, interrupting her thoughts.   
  
Startled, she jumped and turned about face. "Oh, hello, Chloë."  
  
"Hello. What are you doing out here so late?" she asked.  
  
"Just looking up at the sky." Delphine answered.  
  
"Anything interesting?"   
  
  
  
"A few," she answered tentatively. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
"Henrik asked me to come check on you," Chloë replied. "He thought it might be some girl-girl problems."  
  
"How thoughtful," she replied, cynically.   
  
"He can be." Obviously Chloë hadn't paid attention to Delphine's tone of voice. "I'm sorry about Gabrielle," Chloë said sincerely. "I guess she just feels threatened that you might take her place in the family. She's very protective of this family, you know."  
  
"Threatened?" Delphine screeched, then burst out laughing. "Threatened."  
  
"Yes, what's so funny about that?" Chloë questioned, a bit annoyed.  
  
"What is it about me that she feels so threatened by? If anyone should feel threatened, it should be me. After all, she did get the whole town to hate me," Delphine informed her. "Thank you for supporting me."  
  
"That's what family is for," Chloë declared.  
  
Delphine welcomed her into a warm embrace, and then they headed inside.  
  
While walking into the castle a vague rhythmic sound caught Delphine's and Chloë's ears. It was mellow and rich in melody. The way Delphine enjoyed a piece of classical music, soft yet powerful in tune.  
  
"Who's playing?" Delphine paced toward the sound of the music and entered the next room. Twirling herself toward music room, she saw Leonardo sitting in front of the ancient grand piano, playing it gracefully and loyally like the piece of equipment was his best companion.  
  
Heading toward the room, Chloë abruptly stopped her, "I wouldn't go in there if I were you."   
  
"Why not?" Delphine asked, daring to take another step toward the door, tempted to follow the sound of the music.  
  
"Gabrielle gets really infuriated if anyone disrupts Leonardo's practice," Chloë said.  
  
"Well, Gabrielle is just going to have to get used to the fact that not everything is her way." And that said, Delphine marched for the entrance and Chloë hurriedly followed her.  
  
"Delphine!" she begged.  
  
"That was beautiful," Delphine complimented, startling Leonardo and ignoring Chloë's cry.  
  
"Huh? Oh, thank you," he replied, looking up at her smiling face.   
  
"Did you compose that yourself?" she took a step closer and leaned against the piano.  
  
"Yes, I---" Right before he was about to finish the sentence, a choleric voice interrupted him.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Gabrielle shrieked, standing next to the door with outrage.  
  
No one answered.   
  
The room was filled with silence, and as Gabrielle took a few steps closer, Chloë moved out of her way to let her fiery sister pass.  
  
"I asked you, what do you think you're doing?" she reiterated, this time with a little less aggravation.   
  
"I---I was just admiring his beautiful work." Delphine stammered.  
  
"We all know that Leonardo shouldn't be bothered during his practice. He needs complete concentration." she walked over to her husband's side and placed her arm on his shoulder protectively as if she was marking her territory. "The concert date is near; we do not have time for child's play."   
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea." she lied, with a pretentious sincere smile. But deep down inside she was quite disturbed by Gabrielle's last comment. Child's play? she shrieked to herself. The nerve of her, I'll show you child's play!  
  
  
  
"I'll let it slide this time, but next time there'll be consequences." she affirmed. "Now, run along. Henrik is worried sick about you."  
  
Nodded her head subordinately, she exited followed by Chloë.   
  
Strolling up the staircase slowly, she picked up her pace. She wasn't too eager to see Henrik; she would much rather spent any night alone than with him. He had no skill whatsoever. Even his attempts to surprise her were lame, weak, and dull.   
  
It was only their first week of marriage, and she was already bored with him. What was she supposed to do until the day she died? Drown with boredom?  
  
Hesitatingly, she pushed the door open and let herself in. Gasping with surprise, she walked into the dimly lit room.   
  
She twirled around in it, and suddenly Henrik appeared behind her.  
  
"You like it?" he huskily asked, as she whirled around to face with him.  
  
"I love it," she smiled, and turned her attention back to her surround.   
  
Rose pedals filled the room from the floor to their bed, and red and white candles flamed up the romantic scene.   
  
"Wow, I don't know what to say." Delphine was so amazed, she could barely utter a word. I guess he isn't so predictable and dull after all.  
  
  
  
"Were you surprised?" Henrik questioned in hopefulness that she'd say yes.  
  
"Was I surprised? Yes!" She gave him lingering kiss and parted away to ask him. "How did you get all this done?"  
  
"All the stuff was ready, all I had to do was scatter the roses all over the place and light the candles," he answered quickly and couldn't wait to kiss her again. He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her to him to devour her with sweet kisses.   
  
Delphine wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up from the ground, carrying her to the enormous bed and gently laying her down on the bed without breaking their kiss.   
  
For as long as she had known Henrik, it was the first time she was enjoying his company and his touch.   
  
That wasn't to say that she loved him or anything that was between that line, but he did grow on her and she had accepted him as part of her life now. 


	6. Chapter VI: The Memories

Chapter VI  
  
The Memories  
  
Time had surely flown when the frosty bitter winter approached. It had already been weeks into their marriage, weeks since her departure from her parents, her homeland, where she had so many good and bad memories. Memories that she always tried to avoid thinking about when she was around Henrik, or when she was alone, staring into the starry night. Things have changed for the better, she told herself. You need to move on and stop living in the past. He probably already has, so surely you can manage to so as well. Stop pitying yourself. There are worse things in the world that are worth crying over. You have a new life, a new family now. Embrace it. Make the best of it. You only have one life, live it. He's not worth your time. Not anymore…  
  
How am I supposed to make the best of things, when it makes my life a living hell?  
  
Things weren't going so great between her and Gabrielle. Gabrielle still held onto her many great suspicions of Delphine, one of which was accusing her of only using Henrik as bait to get into the kingdom and steal their fortune.   
  
"You never loved him. You can take off the masque now! Drop the pathetic act. We all know you hated Henrik before you ever married him. What's with the sudden change? Your mother is behind all this, isn't she? Like mother, like daughter. I should've known. You people sicken me!"  
  
Gabrielle was unquestionably ambivalent of Delphine's family, especially her mother. She had blamed Delphine's mother for poisoning her mother's jasmine tea on one of her many visits to the château. "She's pure evil, I tell you," she'd declared. "I can tell evil from distance afar. I was bestowed with a gift, and I can tell you right now that my keen eyes don't lie." She then incessantly accused once more, "That woman is as malevolent as the devil himself!"   
  
Delphine had found Gabrielle a tad weird, or perhaps out of this world. She had the most outrageous mind and thoughts. But one thing she knew for sure: she had to agree with Gabrielle on one score, that her mother was indeed a wicked woman. One that was wicked enough to kill Delphine's unborn child. What kind of person in their right mind would kill their daughter's only hope of life?  
  
But that was it the past, and she tried to force it out of her mind. She wasn't supposed to think of anything negative or anything that had to do with her past.   
  
"Delphine!" a voice clamored through the hallway, and burst into her room, startling Delphine. "What's this?" The voice revealed itself as Gabrielle, holding up a torn-up picture.  
  
Her heart just stopped when she saw it, and she quickly snatched the picture of out Gabrielle's grasp. "Where did you get this?" Delphine demanded angrily.  
  
"The maid found it in one of you dresses," Gabrielle informed her. "Care to share? Or should I call Henrik up and we'll have a more interesting conversation."   
  
Looking down at the picture, Delphine brushed her thumb against the soft painting in her hand, and tears were imminent at the edge of her eyes, threatening to fall onto the picture. Drawing in a deep breath to hold the tears back, she forced herself to look up, but found her head refusing to move, her eyes still fastened on the picture.   
  
"I'm waiting." Gabrielle tapped her foot impatiently, with her arms crossed over her chest as if she was hungry for a fight.  
  
"What's going on?" Suddenly Henrik entered and joined the girls.  
  
"Uh, nothing," Delphine sniffed and looked up at her husband a bit hastily, which only made Henrik more suspicious.  
  
"I would check on her occasionally, if I were you." Gabrielle glared at Delphine evilly. "Better yet, make it frequently."  
  
"What in the world are you babbling about now, Gabrielle?" Henrik snapped at her indignantly, proving he was tired of all her propagandas about Delphine alleged attempts to take over their home. "You can't just leave things well enough alone, can you?"  
  
"Why don't you ask her?"   
  
"Delphine, what is she talking about?" Henrik softened his voice and looked at her affectionately.  
  
"I---I" The words didn't seem to want to come out as she looked at him with saddened eyes.  
  
"Look at her hand," Gabrielle insisted.  
  
As Henrik went in to reach for the picture, Delphine pulled away and tore it into shreds, letting the crumbled paper fall to the floor. "It's nothing," she assured him. "It's nothing"  
  
"It seems she had a lover boy on the side." Gabrielle butted in, enjoying the argument.   
  
In shock, Henrik glared at Delphine angrily but managed to ask, "Is that true?"  
  
"No," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "No, I haven't seen anyone. Please believe me."   
  
"This is what you get for marrying a Romanian, a big bag of disgrace," Gabrielle spat. "They'll chew you up and spit you out like tobacco. The masquerade has fallen apart, now do you believe me?"  
  
"What masquerade are you talking about, Gabrielle?" Delphine questioned in anger.  
  
"Your so-called love for Henrik," she accused again. "Your attempt to take over this kingdom."  
  
"For the last time, I have never faked my love for him," Delphine defended herself. "And it never even crossed my mind for a second to rule this place on my own."   
  
"Can you please stop these accusations?" Henrik pleaded in annoyance. "We have to go to visit your parents in an hour, and nothing has been packed. Where are all the maids?"   
  
"Downstairs," Gabrielle replied, and still remained stubbornly in place.  
  
"Delphine can you please get the maids?" Henrik asked her with care in his voice.  
  
Trying to please her husband, she nodded and exited the room, leaving Gabrielle and Henrik behind, looking at each other in disgust.   
  
Many more restless hours passed and they were on their way to Romania.   
  
Down the rugged countryside they went, the carriage bouncing bumpily along on the road. They made several stops along the way to rest and relax, their journey stretching out over several days. As dawn cracked through the frosty night, they were on the road again, riding until they reached a wooded area. Delphine pulled the curtain to the side gently with her fingers and dreamily looked out the small window to let her eyes wander around the wood. Nature had always brought out the inner child in her. No matter how she felt, Mother Nature always managed to work her natural magic and set her soul free. Free for the world to see. Free to express herself… in oh so many ways.   
  
She smiled to herself. She loved the smell of nature. Its wonderful fresh scent, and its picturesque landscape; especially in the spring.   
  
Spring. Suddenly memories of her sneaking out into the wood every night last spring brought her to a bitter chuckle. It was silent, silent enough to avoid Henrik's attention. She remembered all the sights. She thought all those awful memories had been banished from her head. But how can anyone forget something so mesmerizing as her time with Amador?   
  
They didn't know each other for that long but they had shared the love and the experiences that took normal people years to have together.   
  
Soon, they passed a lake. It was the exact one that she had almost drowned in.   
  
Memories started flooding back to her.  
  
She remembered that day. It had been the first day she had ever gone to town by herself. She remembered tripping over someone's foot and being saved by a strong arm, an arm that had saved her more than once.  
  
His image gradually worked its way into her head. His face that had captured her attention, his beautiful, mysterious blue eyes that had captured her soul, his charming smile that had captured her heart.  
  
More memories came flashing back as she remembered the two of them making love for the first time. He had made her feel so safe and so loved. Now and then, she could still taste his kisses and his touch. His sensual touch that made her lose herself in his embrace.   
  
She could see his face when she made love to Henrik; such a disturbance, she thought. Sometimes she could hear herself screaming his name, screams of pleasure.   
  
  
  
Then she woke up, and found it was all but a dream. Frightened that she had possibly cried his name out loud, she checked to see if Henrik had heard her. Thank Lord he was still deeply asleep. Reclining herself back down on the pillow she acted as if she had never had the recurring dream; she erased it from her mind and went back to sleep.   
  
He had cared for her more than anyone ever could. When he had found out she was expecting, he had put his life on the line to run away with her, to save her and their child from her mother. But he had not cared enough when he'd ripped out her in her heart, changing his mind about their attempt to run away. Even when she'd told him she loved him. Maybe love wasn't enough. It sure hadn't been enough to save their child.  
  
Then her memories fast-forwarded to the day her parents had found out about her pregnancy. The morning after the abortion, she had lied her way out of the situation. She'd told them that she had run off to the market the day she had asked her mother's permission to go. She explained she had taken off on her own and was abducted by multiple men and they had done unspeakable things to her.   
  
When her mother asked her about Amador, she had lied again, saying that he was the person who had saved her life. Her alibi had saved Amador's life as well as hers.  
  
Blinking to erase those images from her mind, drops of tears strolled down her cheeks. When she opened up her eyes again, she brought her hand to her cheeks and lightly swept the tears away trying not to smudge her makeup.  
  
Noticing this, Henrik worriedly questioned his wife, "What's the matter?" Turning to him slowly, she replied in a low voice, "Nothing, just admiring nature."  
  
Nodding his head slightly with uncertainty, he didn't know whether or not to believe her, so he let her be and turned away.  
  
He knew something was different about her. Many months ago, she hadn't been so enthusiastic about their marriage. But then something seemed to have happened to her.  
  
Her whole attitude had changed to be exact. She had been a mystery to him ever since they'd gotten married. However, he preferred to keep that mystery a mystery. There was no sense in cracking it; he liked things the day they were and didn't want to interfere and risk breaking the bond between them.   
  
Elsewhere, Amador was lying alone on a bed of leaves, thinking about Delphine. Thoughts of her invaded his mind night after night. There was not a second when he didn't think about her.   
  
She was his life. His everything.   
  
He'd been alone, abandoned, and forgotten. Then she'd come along. She had made his life worth living, had made him alive again. His soul had died the day his mother passed away, but Delphine had turned it all around. She'd made him want to look forward to the next morning. She'd made him the happiest man alive. He had begun to look forward to the night when he got to see her, her beautiful face, the sparks in the eyes. And to hear her speak. Anything bad that may have happened during day was all erased when he heard her voice, her angelic voice.  
  
Her love had meant more to him than anything in the world. Whenever he had heard her name when townspeople spoke about her, he'd felt proud because she was his. His. And no one else's.   
  
Really? Was she really yours? he asked himself. At one point she was. At least it feels like it. Like she was mine. Like she belonged to me.   
  
He had learned about her marriage to Henrik and he often wondered how it had worked out for the both of them, how they dealt with the baby. His baby. The baby that had been conceived by love, their love.   
  
Clearing away the thoughts, he stacked up the logs that were lying next to him onto the cart and headed to the market. 


	7. Chapter XII: The Affair

Chapter VII  
  
The Affair  
  
After a few days and so many hours traveling on the bumpy countryside road and through the dampness of the forest, the royal entourage finally arrived in town.   
  
The busy street was crowded and thundered with chattering voices. People were rambling out prices as if it was a public auction, and people had to yell over one another's voices just to be heard. Commoners cleared the way as the carriage passed through the hectic street. Lining up along the sidewall, people's eyes were suddenly turned, frightened for what was coming ahead. In the distance a small figure could be seen quickly coming toward the street, and it turned out to be Amador. He carelessly pulled out from the street that intersected with the main one and bumped into the royal carriage, causing an accident which knocked over his cart and sent his logs tumbling from their stacks. People gasped at the horrific scene for it was unheard of for peasants to bump into the nobles since all commoners knew better than to get in their way.   
  
Peaking her head out of the little carriage window to see what was happening, Delphine's eyes widened at the sight of Amador, who was lowering himself to pick up the logs.  
  
Her attitude suddenly changed, the pain and sorrow that she had felt months ago—which seemed like forever—rushing suddenly back. Amador could see the hollow of darkness inside her eyes, the spark in her eyes gone, leaving a weariness behind.  
  
Just eyeing him heedlessly, having no idea that she was staring, tears threatened to flood her eyes. Blinking quickly, she settled back into her seat in the carriage and pretended as if nothing had happened, and she flashed Henrik a weak smile of assurance to let him know that everything was fine.  
  
  
  
As for Amador, he couldn't look away from her. It was the first time he'd seen her since the summer he'd hollered at her, telling her to go away, to go home, that he didn't want to be with her anymore. Leaving her there all alone, crying out his name like a lunatic, unknowing of what to do or where to turn. His behavior had been a complete disgrace. He had abandoned her and their child. He really couldn't blame her if she hated him now and wanted to kill him. He didn't deserve to live, and he didn't deserve her once unconditional love for him. After all, he hadn't even had the nerve to tell her a simple "Goodbye."  
  
Her once long, wavy honey-brown hair was no longer hanging freely off her shoulders, but was now twisted in and gathered on the bottom into an elegant bun.   
  
Seeing how she avoided his eyes, he turned his attention back to the logs and hurried to pick them up so that he could move out of the way and line up to the side of the wall like everyone else.  
  
The royal horse picked up its pace once again, and rushed down the road.  
  
Taking his last glimpse of her as they passed, Amador took a deep breath. He wanted her so much. But she was no longer his to want; she belonged to him now.   
  
Looking blankly ahead, Delphine slightly turned her head away from Henrik, trying to hide her emotion. She could sense that the tears were welling up and she couldn't stop herself.  
  
"Are you all right?" Henrik asked concernedly.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Just dust in my eyes," Delphine replied, not bothering to turn to him as she pretended to wipe dust away from her eyes. "Nothing to be worried about."  
  
Nodding uncertainly, he turned and looked out of the window on his side of the carriage. "We're almost there. I can see the towers," he informed her, trying to lighten up the tension.  
  
"Oh, that's great. I'm exhausted of this trip," Delphine claimed, and then let out a long sigh to hold in the tears.  
  
"Are you excited?" Henrik turned to her.  
  
"What's there to be excited about?" she asked disdainfully. "Just year another passed by before my eyes."   
  
"How can you say that?" he questioned in astonishment.  
  
"I couldn't care less," Delphine scornfully stated.  
  
About to say something, Henrik shut his mouth and kept quiet and just looked at her worriedly now and then. His face became saddened by her sudden attitude. It was as if she had multiple personalities. One minute she was full of joy, the next she was apathetic, and then careless.  
  
From time to time he would find her sitting alone in the garden gazing up in heavens blankly, looking so disconsolate, and sometimes it made him wonder what was going on in her head. What had happened to her? She had been a whole different person before he'd married her, then her personality had just completely changed, and now it seemed like coming back to her homeland had changed her again. Just thinking about that made him reconsider his elder sister's opinion of Delphine. Maybe it was just an act that she had set up when she was around his family, to act innocent and entice his whole family into her will.   
  
"I'm sorry," she suddenly spoke again after a long silence.  
  
"What?" Henrik turned to her in surprise.  
  
"I'm sorry. This long trip is just making me a little impatient and irritated," she softly explained to her husband.  
  
"I understand," se answered her in a low manner, still thinking about her sudden change of attitude.  
  
Back at the market, crowds began to scatter all over the place again, leaving only Amador standing against the wall alone, watching the carriage as it faded down the hill. Looking down at the cart, he began to stroll it to his spot and sat himself down on the ground.   
  
Gazing blankly at the people walking past him, he recalled the day Delphine had walked to the market with her mother and a girl who seemed to be slightly younger than Delphine. Possibly her sister, he thought. He remembered the smile she'd given him. It had been the most enchanting thing he could ever hope for, after being with her, of course. He would be satisfied to see that smile again before taking his last breath of life.  
  
"Delphine!" the queen shrieked, running outside to greet her daughter.  
  
"Mother," Delphine greeted her with less enthusiasm.   
  
"Oh, I miss you so much!" Her mother exclaimed, hugging her and kissing her on both cheeks. "Well, look at you! Oh, so grown up and beautiful." She pulled out of the embrace and admired her daughter's new look, and then suddenly her attention went to Delphine's charming husband. " Henrik!"  
  
"Mother," He hailed upon her and sweetly kissed her cheeks.   
  
"Come in, come in!" the queen ordered. "You must be exhausted from the long journey. You should rest," she offered. "Marie, please make them tea and food and bring it to their room."  
  
"Yes, my Queen," the maid who stood next to her obeyed then left into the kitchen.  
  
The day flew by quickly, and soon it was the next morning. The sun had barely peaked out of the mountain, and already everyone was up. The castle was packed with excitement as everyone ran around yelling and hollering at one another.   
  
"Delphine! Delphine!" her mother hollered from the hallway impatiently. "Get up."  
  
"What?" Delphine stirred out of her sleep. "What's going on?"  
  
"How can you still be asleep today of all days?" her mother questioned unbelievably. "Honestly Delphine! Get up."  
  
"Mother, not even dawn has broken through!" Delphine whined, taking the cover and flipping it over her head.   
  
"Henrik, please get your wife up. We need to get prepared for tonight!" The queen sternly said, flipping the cover off of Delphine's head and walking off.   
  
"Amador," the sweet voice spoke his name. "Amador!"   
  
"Delphine!" He shot straight up from the bed, throwing off the covers in a cold sweat, panting. "God, damn!" He cursed himself. He'd had that dream again, the recurring dream of Delphine and him, reminding him of their first night together.   
  
***  
  
]  
  
"Cole," Phoebe softly called him. "Come to bed."  
  
"I thought you said you were hungry," Cole replied from the top of the stairwell.  
  
"Will you two keep it down?" Paige hollered from her room, irritated.  
  
Cole ignored her and headed back into the room with Phoebe. "What's the matter honey? I thought you were hungry," he repeated, closing the door.  
  
"I changed my mind. I'm not hungry anymore," Phoebe said, giving him a half smile.  
  
"Are you sure?" Cole asked, settling himself down next to her and gathering her up in his arms.  
  
"Pretty sure."  
  
***  
  
Finally dawn broke through and morning arrived. Preparations were made around the house that was not quite ready as Delphine slowly paced the room, checking to see if she was in the right castle. The ballroom looked exquisite with its elaborate decorations and a gigantic sparkling crystal chandelier hanging from atop the ceiling.  
  
"Well, finally!" her mother greeted her by the door.  
  
"Don't tell me this is all for me," Delphine remarked.  
  
"Well, of course it is. For the Lord's sake, you're no longer a child," the queen said, walking toward her.  
  
"Oh, mother. This is too much," Delphine replied with a slight bit of sarcasm in her voice. "Absolutely too much."  
  
Glancing at her daughter suspiciously, the queen let another one of her ungrateful comments slide by. It wasn't worth her time or breath to wrestle with Delphine. Ever since the loss of her child, she had been acting coldly toward everyone; even her own father couldn't stand her anymore.   
  
On the evening of the party, every noble person from town gathered to join Delphine and Henrik on their first visit to Romania as a married couple. Throughout the glorious evening, guests had been coming up to the couple and congratulating them on a happy, life-long marriage… which made Delphine want to gag. Ever since the unexpected reunion of her and Amador, she hadn't been thinking straight. It was just like half a year ago when everywhere she turned, she saw his face. It was as if he had some kind of power over her, trying to control her. Maybe he had cast a spell on her. Everywhere she looked, there seemed to be an image of Amador, that face that had brought meaning to her life. Suddenly someone passed through the crowd looking undeniably like Amador, heading for the kitchen. Her eyes focused on the imposter, she began to follow him.   
  
However, the music had tuned up and it was time to dance. Henrik then pretended to be a charming prince, offering his hand and asking if he may have the dance. Seeing how endearing his gesture was, Delphine replied with a cute little curtsy and took his hand. The music and the dance helped her relaxed a little, but the image of the imposter was still stuck in her mind. I've got to find out. she told herself. Faking a feeling of drowsiness, she excused herself from finishing the dance and exited the ballroom and to go outside where she could get some fresh air. Henrik asked if she would have liked him to accompany her, but she declined his offer, saying that she preferred to be alone for a while.  
  
Sitting on the fountain with its little angels armed with bows and arrows, shooting out sprays of water, she looked up into the sky and wished that she had never wished for a charming prince to sweep her off her feet. Damn the shooting star! This was not what she had asked for. Maybe it is, but this certainly was not the way she'd imagined it. Distracted by her thoughts, a voice came from behind her and interrupted her reverie.   
  
"Lovely night isn't it?" Darkness covered the intruding figure as it looked up toward the clear sky. "Wish every night could be like this."  
  
Startled by the voice, Delphine jumped up and twirled around. "What are you doing here?" she asked bitterly, confused by his presence.  
  
"I'm here to deliver the logs," Amador simply answered. "Quite a party, huh?" he commented, changing the subject. "You must feel wonderful having people throwing parties in your honor."   
  
"Hush up!" Delphine barked. "What do you know about me?"   
  
"Shouldn't you be inside with everyone else?" he ignored her comment and tried to be conversational. "Why so gloomy, show some spirit."  
  
"What's to show?" she gallingly spat. "I've lost everything… including my soul."  
  
Looking at in her with pure remorse, he approached her and asked, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"What do you care? You didn't care about us then, why now? What's the sudden change?"  
  
  
  
"Delphine, you know why I did what I did," he reasoned. "It was best for you and the baby. I did it to protect you and the baby."  
  
"Well, it sure as hell did a lot of protecting!" Delphine argued. "You don't know what's best for me, Amador." She shook her head holding in the tears, trying to stay strong.  
  
It was the first time she'd spoken his name in months. It seemed so foreign to her tongue. She spoke with such clarity of agony and anger in her voice, he couldn't figure out if she was talking out a pain or hatred.  
  
Confused by her comment, he looked down at her abdomen and noticed her flat stomach. He may not have been well-educated but he found it odd that a pregnant lady as far along as Delphine didn't seem to be showing. Afraid to even ask what had happened, he instead questioned, "Where's the baby?"  
  
"Dead," she stiffly replied.  
  
"What?" he barely uttered. Tears started to form in corners of his eyes, and then fell freely down his face.  
  
Delphine turned away from him, runnels of tears springing up from her eyes as she remembered the way she'd found out the sorry fate of their baby. She remembered many restless nights where she'd stayed awake, frightened to go to sleep because she couldn't stand the cries that continuously haunted her.  
  
Unexpectedly, Henrik marched himself out to the courtyard and joined Amador and Delphine. Quickly wiping away her tears, Delphine turned to him and quietly told Amador to leave. Slightly nodding his head, he quickly turned and walked away, pushing the barrel loaded with wood.   
  
Suspicions filled Henrik's eyes as Delphine moved toward him to assure him that there was nothing going on between her and the peasant.  
  
"Don't mind him; he's just here to deliver the logs, that's all," she offered before Henrik even asked.  
  
Nodding his head, they returned to the ballroom together.  
  
***  
  
"Phoebe! Get up, Phoebe, get up!" Cole said insistently yanking at her.   
  
"What?! It's Saturday!" Phoebe whined.  
  
"Phoebe, look." Cole pulled her up into his arms and pointed to the window.  
  
Gasps of astonishment filled Phoebe's voice. "Oh, my gosh!" she shrieked jumping out of bed. "Oh, my gosh!"  
  
"Isn't it amazing?" Cole wrapped the comforter around him and her as they looked out the window.  
  
"I can't believe this. This is the first snow in a decade!" She snuggled under Cole's embrace. "This is want I've always wanted."  
  
"What? Snow?"  
  
"No, this. Us. Together like this," Phoebe answered with a warm smile on her face. "Who knows, this just might be the only white Christmas we'll ever spent together. Who knows when the next one might hit?"  
  
"Sooner than you think," Cole answered, and kissed her cheek.  
  
***  
  
The next night was quieter than the previous night. The tensions were awkward. Henrik was on to her, and she knew it. They hadn't spoken very much after the party.   
  
"Will it be all right if I take a small walk to get some fresh air?" Delphine politely asked her husband. She always knew how to butter him up; a little sweet talk always got her whatever she wanted.  
  
"Certainly, my dear; whatever makes you feel better," Henrik answered, allowing a weak smile to form on his lips. He was uncertain about letting her go but he conceded, deciding it would be a perfect chance for him to follow her and see what she was up to.  
  
She smiled back and waved to him as she exited the room. She needed to be alone. She needed to get out of the room and be on her own, to be free to think about whatever she wanted to without fear of being interrupted. Staying in that room for the past two nights had been too much for her. It brought back too much anguish for her to handle. She could still felt that presence at nighttime and the uncanny cries. It was more from a distance now, maybe because it was her lost sense of presence that had driven the spirit away.   
  
Wandering mindlessly into the woods, she finally found herself standing before the familiar wooden door. The sudden feeling of that lost little girl in her rushed back… the feeling of the little girl who was trying to find love in the man who had saved her.  
  
Balling up her fist, she raised it up hesitantly and knocked. Her fingers were suddenly fidgeting, and she felt like there was a huge knot in her stomach. She could feel the sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.   
  
Suddenly the door swung open, and she looked up quickly with tears already wobbling in her eyes. She didn't know were it came from; it was just there, on its own.   
  
"They killed her," she said hoarsely, her voice breaking with tears as she looked up into his eyes.   
  
Confused for a moment, Amador finally understood what she was talking about. Anger suddenly overtook him, and his face turned flamingly red in light of the blazing embers. Seeing this, Delphine looked away and was about to leave but Amador called her back.  
  
"I'm sorry." His voice was sincere and filled with remorse. "I'm sorry I never trusted you."   
  
Turning back to him, trying to hold her emotion in, she spoke quietly, "What's done is done." And then she started walking toward the lake, knowing fully well that Amador was going to follow her.  
  
"You see this lake?" she rhetorically asked. "You should've let me drown. I would've been happier dead than alive."  
  
"You don't mean that," Amador uttered, coming closer to her.  
  
"Don't I?" She turned, facing him with tears on her face. "After all, my life is just a show for everyone. I have nothing. Even if I did, it's all gone. Which is what I should've been. Gone, disappeared off the surface of the earth. This is not a life, this is a rotten punishment."  
  
Amador quickly pulled her in for a warm and deep embrace and tried to calm her down by rubbing her back. It felt so good to have her in his arms again. It felt like old times. He loved how her face buried in his chest.   
  
"I'm sorry, it was all my fault. I should've listened," he whispered softly to her, as he himself wanted to cry along with her. He wanted to mourn over his daughter's death. He wanted to kill himself for what had happened. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Looking up at him, a small smile formed on a corner of her lips. "It wasn't your fault. None of this was." That said, her tears began to fall again in earnest.  
  
Wiping the tears gently off her face, he moved his hand to her abdomen and softly pressed against it. He then fell to his knees and rested his head on her stomach and whispered, "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry," as tears conquered his eyes.  
  
Falling down as well, Delphine lifted up his face and forced him to look at her. She didn't blame him for any of it. It had been the anger that was talking before, but now she felt no anger for holding back feelings, just sadness.   
  
"If only I had listened to you, our baby could've lived," he said apologetically.   
  
"Could have," she whispered, and nodded her head slowly.  
  
"I'm sorry for all the pain I've put you through. I know you hate me—" She then cut him off by shaking her head.  
  
"I don't hate," she cried. "I don't blame you for anything, Amador. You gave me something that no one else in this world ever could: freedom. And for that, I thank you." Just as that was said, she leaned in and kissed him softly, but couldn't contain herself and she passionately explored his mouth. In return, Amador pulled her in for a deeper embrace and kissed her hungrily. Their mouths were blazing in fire, as both of them wrestled to be closer to each other.  
  
Pulling away slowly, Amador huskily asked Delphine to go inside because it was getting cold. Agreeing, she stood up and they headed back into the small cabin.   
  
There they stayed in each other's arms and talked about everything that had happened in the time they had lost contact with each other.   
  
Delphine told him how it had happened, how she had lost their baby. And how the spirit had haunted her ever since, how she their baby had been a girl through her cries. Every now and then he would stroke her head and give her a kiss just to assure her that everything was going to be all right.   
  
She then would tell him a funny moment of how she pissed off Gabrielle because she was being such a pain in the neck. She felt so comfortable with him, as if she could say anything and not have to worry about being ridiculed for her wording.   
  
Then he shared his thoughts on how their child would have been. She could see the hope and love in his eyes when he described them. His hands were rubbing her stomach in circular motions as his eyes lit up, and it made her felt like she was actually pregnant again.   
  
After a few tears and laughter, they sat in silence as their fingers intertwined together. They felt like they'd been in each other's arms forever. Delphine laid her head against Amador's strong chest and breathed in his scent. As for Amador, he was just happy that she was in his arms once again.   
  
"Amador," she called him softly.   
  
In reply he kissed her cheek, as she continued, "Whatever happens, I'll always love you."   
  
"And I shall love you till the day I die," Amador answered lovingly, pulling her in tighter.  
  
About an hour passed without Delphine or Amador realizing it. There was still so much to talk about, but all they wanted to do was to savor every precious moment they could spend together as much as they could. Relaxing in each other's arms for as long as they could, Delphine snuggled her head closer to Amador's chest and tied her arms tighter around his waist. It didn't quiet travel all the way around his big waist but it was enough for her to have a good grip on him.   
  
Smiling to himself, he stroked her head and swept her hair behind her ears and kissed the top of her head. He then slowly pulled away and turned her around to face him. "You have to go," he whispered without realizing he'd uttered the words.  
  
She gazed into his eyes with her puzzled ones, and he gently brushed her hair back behind her shoulder and smiled, "I don't think a walk would've lasted this long."  
  
The grin that broke out on her face quickly captured his heart, causing him to grin as well, and she mischievously replied in a childish tone of voice, "I could've been lost. You know how vast this wood is."  
  
"Delphine, you have to go, darling," he softy insisted and cupped her warm, rosy cheeks that had been pressed to his chest. "As much as I would like for you to stay, you must leave for your own safety. I don't want to cause you any more heartache."  
  
"But leaving you is the heartache," she whined.  
  
"Oh, Delphine," he purred into her ears as he leaned in and gave her a soft peck on her temple. "There will be plenty of time for us to be together. But, now you must go before they get suspicious." He slowly pulled away again and caressed his thumbs against her cheeks. "I don't know if I could live with myself if something happened to you. Now, you must leave."  
  
Obeying his request, she nodded her head in agreement and tentatively got up.   
  
As they pulled each other in for a last embrace, things started to get emotional again, particularly for Delphine.   
  
Brushing her tears away, he told her how much he loved her and how he would always be there for when she needed him, even if she was thousands of miles away.   
  
"I don't want to go," she sniffled. "I want to stay here with you. I love you, Amador. I don't want to leave you…again."   
  
"You must. If you don't, they'll come and look for you, and we'll both be in deep water," Amador persuaded before Delphine pulled him into a deep kiss that he lost himself in as they both stumbled for the bed.  
  
"Delphine," Amador moaned, as he laid her down onto the pillow.  
  
Outside, a mystical region of the wood blocked out the moonlight so that no light could shine through and nothing could be seen from inside or out.   
  
"Amador," Delphine uttered breathlessly as she tried to remove his shirt, but he wouldn't have it. He quickly stopped her before they could do something that they both knew couldn't happen.  
  
"No, Delphine. You have to go," he murmured as he kissed the crook of her neck.  
  
Acknowledging this, she agreed, and he helped her up. She straightened out her dress, and fixed her hair, and they gave each other a final goodbye kiss. Delphine pulled away and removed a ruby necklace from her neck and handed it to him.  
  
"This is for you. My grandmother had given it to me the day she died, and her mother had passed it on to her. It was going to be for our daughter. But now it's yours," she said as her voice threatened to crack. "She named it 'Eternal Necklace' because it's supposed to represent the undying love for one's lover. That was why her husband had chosen ruby for the necklace; its colour stands for love. He had given it to her the day he asked her hand in marriage. Romantic, isn't it? Here, it's yours now."  
  
"No, no, I can't take this. It's too precious. You keep it," Amador pushed it back to her.  
  
"No. Please, take it. Love me, and take it. Sell it if you need to, when you need the money." She placed it on his palm and closed it. "Remember me," she then whispered. "Remember our love and our baby."  
  
"I don't know what to give you back in return," he uttered.  
  
"I don't need anything except your love," she kissed him softly on the lips and then breathed, "Farewell, Amador," and opened the door to leave.  
  
"Farewell, Delphine."  
  
Just as she was only a few feet from the door, a figure came up from behind and grabbed her.  
  
Delphine let out a frightened scream, and a horrified Amador dashed out of the cabin to check on his lover.  
  
"Quite a walk you had, eh?" her attacker cynically remarked close to her ear, sending chills down her spine. She knew exactly who it was without even having to turn around to look.  
  
"Henrik, I can—I can," she stuttered looking back at Amador, worried for his life more than her own.  
  
"Can it!" Henrik hissed. "Get him!" he ordered, and out of the blue, four guards came out from both sides of the cabin and arrested Amador.  
  
"Amador!" Delphine called out as she struggled against Henrik's grasp, as Amador himself tried to break free from the guards' grasp. He managed to break free but a guard kicked him from the back to weaken him.  
  
"Destroy this place," Henrik roared, as the other two guards obeyed, surrounding the house with fuel and setting fire to it. 


	8. Chapter XIII: The Cell

Chapter VIII  
  
The Cell  
  
The walk back to the castle was a difficult journey for both Delphine and Amador as they both tried to break free with every step they took. As for Henrik, he seemed to find amusement in the whole scene. "Pathetic," he thought.   
  
"Henrik," Delphine begged, "let him go, please. He didn't do anything. It was my fault. Do whatever you want to me, but just please leave him out of this."  
  
"Can it, Delphine," Henrik snarled. "I've had just about enough of your lies." He then forced her to walk ahead when she tried to turn. "I presumed that he's the boy in the picture that the maid had found."  
  
Staying silent as they approached the castle, she refused to say anything that would make this situation any worse.   
  
Without even to bothering to report the news to the king and queen, Henrik ordered the guard to lock Amador in the cell for the night to await the king's orders at sunrise.   
  
Amador took one last glimpse at Delphine; they both knew this was the end.   
  
Their intensely locked gaze was interrupted by Henrik's yank on Delphine's arm as he pulled her to the main chamber where her parents were seated side by side.  
  
"What's going on? What's all this commotion?" the king demanded.  
  
Hailed respectively before her parents, she didn't dare to look upon them, but instead Henrik took the honour and answered for her.  
  
"My king," Henrik began, bowing before them as well. "I've discovered a horrific display of a disturbing act between a peasant and a noblewoman." He then turned disgustedly toward Delphine and spoke, "And to think that the noble was my own wife is really a humiliation and an ignominy."   
  
As he spoke the accusing words, Delphine couldn't help but think that the shocked looks on her parents' faces were priceless. The queen's jaw nearly dropped opened and the king's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.  
  
"Delphine, is that true?" The king barely had enough strength to speak.   
  
"Yes, Father," she spoke up, clearly so that everyone in the room could hear her. She wasn't ashamed of what she had done; she was proud of her appalling act that everyone was making such a big deal out of. "And you know what?" she added with a wicked smiled plastered on her face, "I'm not ashamed of it. As a matter of fact, I love him."   
  
Gasps of horror filled the chamber as the king placed his hand over his heart.  
  
"Delphine!" the queen uttered disgustedly.   
  
"Take her to a cell at once! I can't take this right now," the king ordered the guards. "Keep her where the boy is."  
  
Nodding their heads, they each grabbed Delphine's arm and dragged her to her cell, throwing her inside and slamming the wooden door shut behind her, leaving Amador and Delphine alone.  
  
"Enjoy your time together while you can," Henrik sneered, standing behind the guards, and then he walked off disgustedly.  
  
"Delphine," Amador whispered in surprise. "What are you doing in here?"  
  
"They threw me in here," Delphine replied, and as she crawled next to him, he pulled her in for a long lasting embrace.  
  
In the middle of the night, Amador softly caressed Delphine's cheeks as she lay comfortably on his chest, sleeping peacefully as if nothing had happened.   
  
At his touch, she stirred and fluttered her eyes open and looked up. A small smile danced on her lips, forgetting where they were.   
  
"Hello, beautiful." He kissed her cheek.  
  
"Why aren't sleeping?" she asked innocently.  
  
"How can I sleep when someone as beautiful as you is lying next to me?" he asked. "For Lord's sake, who knows how long I'll still be alive to spend my time looking at you."  
  
"You'll live," Delphine insisted, sitting up, "You will. You have to."  
  
"It's not my choice to make, Delphine," he sadly spoke, taking her hands.  
  
"Don't say that!" she said, at the verge of tears. "You always have a choice."  
  
"Delphine, I know how hard it is," he murmured, looking into her eyes. "But whatever happens, the baby and I will always look over you."  
  
"Don't talk like that!" she screamed. "Nothing will happen to you. Nothing! You hear me? I won't let it. Even if it means I have to put my own life on the line."  
  
"Don't be silly, Delphine."   
  
"Who's being silly?" Delphine argued. "I'm being serious."  
  
"You have a life ahead of you."  
  
"So do you!"  
  
  
  
"Delphine, listen to me—" Amador said.  
  
"No, I will not. Why?" she asked, tears freely flowing as she backed away from him.  
  
"Because, I suppose we're just not meant to be together in this lifetime." he slowly explained.  
  
"What did I do to deserve this?" she sobbed, "What did you do to deserve this?  
  
"Nothing. You're prefect. This just isn't meant for us."   
  
"How can you say that after all we went through together?!"  
  
"Shh, Delphine. Things will work out." He came closer to her and pulled her in for an embrace as she sobbed uncontrollably.   
  
***  
  
The warm San Francisco sun was buried beneath massive white clouds, and Prescott St. was brightly decorated with snow covering houses from roof to ground.   
  
"I guess the El Nino hit us hard this year," Cole claimed, looking out the window.  
  
"I want a snowball fight!" pouted Phoebe, as she put on her winter gear.  
  
"Phoebe, no. You can't!" Cole wouldn't hear of it.  
  
"Why not? Give me one reason. One good reason," Phoebe demanded.  
  
Before Cole could answer, Piper hollered to Phoebe from the kitchen. "Phoebe can you keep an eye on Melinda, please? I need to go to the store to pick up a gallon of milk, because somebody drank the last bit of it."  
  
Sighing heavily, Phoebe replied, "Sure Piper," and started removing her winter clothes. "Happy?" she groused, turning to Cole.  
  
"It's for your own good," he replied with a grin, and walked over to give her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she waved her hand at him in dismissal and left the room.   
  
  
  
The moon cleared away in the bright sky as the sunken sun rose up over the mountain peak, and everything was quiet and dull, as nature brought in the arrival of a new day in the bitterly cold winter month.   
  
Delphine curled up in a corner with a torn shirt covering her upper body and a shirtless Amador lay next to her with his arms wrapped around her waist.   
  
"Oh, my Lord. Don't you two look adorable?" a voice cracked. "Too bad it won't last."  
  
At this, Amador and Delphine were awaken out of their sleep and quickly sat up as their eyes saw who it was.  
  
"Wakey, wakey, wakey," the intruding voice sang.  
  
"Henrik!" Delphine jumped. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Greeting you and your lover boy, Amador, am I correct?" Henrik replied in the wittiest tone of voice.  
  
"Bite me!" she spat.  
  
"I don't think you would like it very much if I did," he threw back. "I don't think your lover would like it if I did."   
  
Amador jumped at this and wrapped his arms protectively around Delphine.   
  
"Well, enjoy her while you can." With that, he walked off, leaving them holding onto each other.  
  
A week passed before there was finally a trial for the two accused lovers. The king's judgment was passed down: the only way for Delphine to learn a lesson was to get rid of her peasant lover. The decision wasn't a tough one, but what took him so long to announce it was the nagging voice of his conscience that he ultimately ignored. He knew his daughter would never forgive him for what he was about to do, but he was willing to take that chance. It was for her own good, after all.   
  
Numerous guards headed for the cell and dragged Delphine and Amador up to their feet to pull them outside. They brought them out in front of the crowd that had gathered to watch the execution. Standing in the center of all this was a giant man clad in iron armor, holding in his massive hands a deadly-looking metal sword.  
  
The guards that held onto Amador suddenly threw him down right next to the giant, forcing him on his knees and tying his hands helplessly behind his back.  
  
In horror at the sight of the scene, Delphine lunged forward and cried desperately, "NO! Don't! STOP! NOO PLEASE NO!" She hysterically cried while trying to wriggle out of the guards' grasp but her arms were caught back.   
  
The crowd looked horrified, some praying for Amador as they looked heavenward, some reciting the prayers of the rosary as they mumbled hymns. Others murmured to each other, crying out pity for him, as the iron giant heaved his heavy arms up, while Delphine shut her eyes, and turned her head away.  
  
But Henrik, savoring the moment and wanting her to live it as well, grabbed her head and twisted it back in place and widened her eyes.   
  
And in one fast motion, the sword came flying down…  
  
Blood spilled, the crowd gasped, and tears were shed.  
  
Using all her might, Delphine broke free and ran toward the heavy sword…  
  
Before anyone could react, Delphine was resting in peace next to her lover… 


	9. Epilogue: Forever Yours

Epilogue  
  
Forever Yours  
  
The icy day had passed, and the chilly night swooped in as Cole and Phoebe lay comfortably in each other's embrace. Cole propped himself up with his elbow and laid Phoebe completely on the pillow and took his thumb and gently caressed her blushed cheek from the cold, and smiled at her.   
  
Phoebe's eyes fluttered up to Cole's with a wicked smirk spread across her pouty lips, along with eyes that were dancing full of lustful ideas.  
  
He grinned back at her with a hint of naughtiness as he lowered his head and softly kissed her neck, and mumbled between kisses. "You didn't seem too thrilled today, considering how much you loved the snow."  
  
Rubbing his back with a sigh, she lackadaisically replied, "I—I was just thinking about us."  
  
"I thought you did that yesterday, already," Cole joked, which earned him a slap on a chest from Phoebe.  
  
"I'm serious, Cole. I just can't get that movie and the dream out of my head. It's like there's a connection between them, and I just can't get rid of it, like it's a mission or something. I have to solve this—this…mystery before I can rest peacefully."  
  
"Mystery?" Cole gave her a look. "I would hardly call that a mystery; more of a coincidence. You were the one who suggested that dreadful, bloody boring movie."  
  
"I thought you said you liked it!"  
  
"Before I saw it."  
  
"You know, I just want to kill you sometimes," she squinted her eyes and shot him an evil glare.   
  
"No, you don't; you love me." Cole gathered her up in his arms and nuzzled on her neck.  
  
"Cole! I'm being serious," Phoebe protested, pulling away from Cole's embrace. "The movie felt like déjà vu. It seemed like I've seen it somewhere before, like in the past or a premonition," she explained, and shifted a little to straighten herself up. "But, it's just a big blur and confusion. There were people shouting and yelling… it must have been a sword fight or something because I saw a thick metal sword. Although there wasn't an arena around, just a big crowd."  
  
Cole looked at her funnily and backed away a little and responded, "You know, I don't think I like you thinking too much; you tend to start babbling."  
  
Letting out a snicker, she playfully hit him then turned serious again.  
  
"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad it brought you to me, and this little miracle." She placed her hand on her not-so-flat belly.  
  
Muah. He kissed her belly and came back to her. "No one will take me away from you or our baby," Cole vowed proudly, following up his promise with a passionate kiss as he rubbed her belly. Suddenly Phoebe let out a little grunt.  
  
"Oh, oh, oh, did you feel that?" Phoebe looked up at Cole.  
  
"Yes, I did," Cole said happily.   
  
"The baby just kicked," Phoebe swarmed in excitement.  
  
"Hey there little one." Cole stooped down to her belly and kissed it.  
  
"You know you can't keep calling him or her that once the baby's born."  
  
"Can you say 'it'?" Cole asked. "It's weird you keep calling it—I mean the baby 'baby'; don't you get tired of saying that?"  
  
"Cole, our child is a person, not an object!" Phoebe fumed. "The baby has a gender and I prefer you calling the baby, 'baby.' Would you like it if I called you an 'it'?"  
  
"Hey!" Cole put on an insulted face. "All right, I get your point. What do you want me to call the baby? He or she doesn't have a name yet."  
  
"Have you thought of any names for the baby?" Phoebe questioned, rubbing her stomach.  
  
"A couple."  
  
"What would you name her if the baby is a girl?"   
  
Cole looked at her adoringly and ran his fingers through her hair and replied, "Delphine."  
  
"Delphine?" Phoebe looked puzzled. "Sounds ancient."  
  
"Not quite."  
  
"What about a boy?"  
  
"Amador."  
  
"Amador?" She frowned, looking puzzled again. "What kind of name is Amador?"  
  
"It means lover," Cole said.  
  
"Interesting."  
  
"If you don't like it, there are a million names out there for you to choose from."  
  
"No, no, I like it. It sounds foreign." Then out of curiosity, she asked, "Where did you get those names from?"  
  
"Off the top of my head," Cole replied noncommittally.  
  
"Yeah, I like it. It's perfect. Little Delphine, or little Amador." She stated pensively, laying herself down on the pillow.   
  
Gazing down at her, he placed his hand on her tummy and said, "Hi, Delphine or Amador."   
  
Phoebe reached her arm down and pulled Cole up level with her and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you."   
  
"I love you, too," he muttered. "Now, go to sleep."  
  
"But, I thought we're gonna--"  
  
"There's plenty of time for that. You should get some rest… for the baby."   
  
"I guess," she agreed. "Good night."  
  
"Goodnight," he kissed her on the temple.  
  
  
  
An hour passed and Phoebe lay fast asleep, with a wide-awake Cole caressing her side. He looked at her with saddened eyes, but a satisfied smile on his lips. He then gently stroked her head trying not to wake her, and whispered, "Goodnight, Delphine," before kissing her lips. "I'm forever yours."  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
